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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| New focus in Jersey abuse inquiry | New focus in Jersey abuse inquiry |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A sniffer dog at a former Jersey children's home at the centre of an abuse inquiry has reacted "strongly" in a cellar search, investigators said. | A sniffer dog at a former Jersey children's home at the centre of an abuse inquiry has reacted "strongly" in a cellar search, investigators said. |
| Deputy Chief Police Officer, Lenny Harper said it was comparable to the discovery of a child's skull at the Haut de la Garenne home. | Deputy Chief Police Officer, Lenny Harper said it was comparable to the discovery of a child's skull at the Haut de la Garenne home. |
| The dog was sent into a room in a bricked-up cellar that has been the focus of investigations. | The dog was sent into a room in a bricked-up cellar that has been the focus of investigations. |
| Mr Harper said they had received 70 calls from people mentioning a cellar. | Mr Harper said they had received 70 calls from people mentioning a cellar. |
| "It would appear as if the cellar is exactly as some of the witnesses who've made statements to us, and victims have described," he told reporters. | "It would appear as if the cellar is exactly as some of the witnesses who've made statements to us, and victims have described," he told reporters. |
| It's difficult to imagine the traumatic effect that this has had on victims Deputy Chief of Police, Lenny Harper class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7266797.stm">In pictures: Jersey inquiry class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/jersey/7266188.stm">Secrets 'shatter idyll' | |
| Officers have gained partial access to the cellar, Mr Harper said, after structural engineers assessed the safety of the building. | |
| It is thought there is a second area that is also bricked-up. | |
| "We're going to have to gain further access to that, and will probably spend the rest of the afternoon preparing for that," Mr Harper said. | "We're going to have to gain further access to that, and will probably spend the rest of the afternoon preparing for that," Mr Harper said. |
| He explained he was "confident" about the dog's discovery but warned there "could well be an innocent explanation for what [it] may have found". | He explained he was "confident" about the dog's discovery but warned there "could well be an innocent explanation for what [it] may have found". |
| Mr Harper said he thought there would be arrests as a result of the police investigation - though not necessarily based on the forensic work at the building. | |
| 'Traumatic effect' | |
| Mr Harper described how many of the alleged victims, who had come forward in the past few days, were very reluctant to speak because of their bad memories of the home. | |
| "It's difficult to imagine the traumatic effect that this has had on victims," he said. | |
| "There will be others who perhaps have been worried that they might not be taken seriously." |