British child sex-abuse probe yields over 1,400 suspects

By Kim Hjelmgaard And Jane Onyanga-Omara
USA Today
May 20, 2015

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/05/20/british-sex-abuse-investigation/27635915/

Late British disc jockey and presenter Jimmy Savile is pictured at Madame Tussauds museum in London, England. Investigators said Savile sexually assaulted victims aged from 5 to 75 in hospitals across Britain over more than four decades.

LONDON — More than 1,400 suspects, including 76 politicians and dozens of celebrities, are being investigated over allegations of child sex abuse involving VIPs and institutions such as schools, a British police group said Wednesday.

The allegations, many of which relate to cases from years ago, were revealed in a briefing to reporters by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), a group that operates across Britain's disparate forces on what it calls "the most serious and strategic threats."

Simon Bailey, a police chief in the eastern England county of Norfolk who is leading the investigation — called Operation Hydrant — said 1,433 alleged offenders have been identified.

Many of them — 261 — have been identified as "people of public prominence" from industries such as music, television, sports and politics. Two-hundred and sixteen of the alleged offenders are already dead, he said.

The police caseload for reports of child sexual abuse has increased 71% in the last three years, the NPCC said. That's a rise from 66,120 reported incidents in 2012 to a projected 113, 291 cases in 2015.

"These figures are stark. They indicate the scale of child abuse police are dealing with," Bailey said.

Sheila Taylor, CEO of NWG Network, a U.K. charity that tackles child sexual exploitation, said recent revelations followed years of campaigning by a number of groups for a better and more cohesive response to managing allegations of child sex abuse.

"The level of abuse was often not understood," she said."I think everybody has a duty to speak out about this and clearly there are perhaps some institutions that haven't done (so)."

Britain launched a number of investigations after hundreds of people came forward accusing the late DJ and TV presenter Jimmy Savile of sexual abuse at locations including schools and hospitals stretching back decades.

The allegations surfaced after his death in 2011. Several other celebrities were subsequently jailed for sex crimes. Last year, investigators said Savile had sexually assaulted victims aged 5 to 75.