Jersey is, by all accounts, a lovely place. My mum and dad have been a few times, but they and many other have always said that it is nice, but not the sort of place for kids.
Given the recent horror stories from jersey, it is clear to see why.
Perhaps the most disturbing fact though is not that this abuse happened, because sadly abuse of this sort was not just confined to Jersey as there have been cases of this sort in Britain much longer ago, and Ireland an I am sure many other countries too. No, the most disturbing part is the feeling that the island's authorities have tried there very best to silence anyone who had allegations to make and rubbish those investigating the abuse.
When a senior minister on the island of Jersey have in the last few days been seen to be trying to undermine the police investigation, you have to ask why there is such a strong need to protect the child abusers on Jersey.
Taken with the earlier news that members of the Jersey government had been criticised by former island Health Minister, Senator Stuart Syvret, who accused them of mishandling previous instances of child abuse. It really does show Jersey in a bad light.
Senator Syvret highlighted a report commissioned by Jersey's Education Committee into an incident of child abuse at an island school in the 1990s which made a strong case for prosecutions to be made. Sadly no prosecutions went ahead.
As Senator Syvret said "The overriding concern of the establishment is the image of Jersey - to prosecute people would be apocalyptically bad for the Jersey establishment."
How much more is waiting to be uncovered in Jersey ?
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