Children's rights activist Peter
Newell jailed for abuse
By Vinnie O'Dowd, BBC News, 16 February 2018
A
children's rights activist has been jailed for six years and eight months for
sexually abusing a boy in the 1960s.
Peter
Newell was the former co-ordinator of the Association for the Protection of All
Children charity.
The
77-year-old from Wood Green, north London, was sentenced last month at
Blackfriars Crown Court.
He
admitted five indecent and serious sexual assaults on a child under 16.
The
Association for the Protection of All Children, or Approach, says its objectives
are to prevent cruelty and maltreatment of children and advance public
knowledge in the UK and abroad.
It
says its focus is on protecting children from "physical punishment and all
other injurious... whether inside or outside the home".
Approach
operates through the Children Are Unbeatable! Alliance in the UK and the Global
Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children.
There
is no suggestion the south London-based charity knew about Newell's behaviour,
which occurred before he was employed there.
In
2015 Approach brought a complaint to Europe's top human rights watchdog against
France and six other EU countries over its failure to explicitly ban smacking
children.
According
to the accounts, for the five years from 2012 to 2016, Approach received
hundreds of thousands of pounds in income from the NSPCC and Save the Children,
as well as other organisations abroad and a private donor. Barnardo's provided
funding in four of those years, while income from Unicef came in 2014 and 2015.
The
latest accounts for 2017 show Approach only received funding for its overseas
activities, and the NSPCC and Barnardo's were not listed as having made any
contributions.
None
of Approach's funders are believed to have been aware of Newell's actions.
Beneficiaries not at risk
In a
statement, the Metropolitan Police said Newell's offences, which were first
reported to it in March 2016, started when his victim was aged 12.
Police
said they took place between 1965 and 1968 at a number of addresses and
locations in south and east England, including London.
Newell
pleaded guilty on 2 January to two charges of serious sexual assault between
May 1966 and May 1968 and three charges of indecent assault committed between
May 1965 and May 1968.
The
Charity Commission said it was informed by Approach about the allegation
against Newell in 2016.
It
said: "We have been in correspondence with the charity on this matter
since 2016 to ensure the charity's safeguarding procedures are robust and that
there are policies in place to protect its beneficiaries.
"The
charity has confirmed that it has safeguarding policies and procedures in place
which are being kept under review and that the charity and the trustees have
very limited contact with children and that there is no suggestion that the
charity's beneficiaries were or are at risk."
In
2007, Newell co-authored the Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the
Rights of the Child for Unicef.
Unicef
said it has "zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse".
A
spokesperson added: "We are deeply shocked to hear of the arrest of Peter
Newell. We had no knowledge of this crime when he worked as a Unicef consultant
10 years ago. Unicef has since set in place strong procedures to vet staff and
consultants."
Barnardo's
said it was "one of over a 100 organisations that supported the
Alliance".
"We
have no evidence that anyone at Barnardo's was aware of these terrible charges
and we no longer fund the Alliance," a spokesman said.
Link originale: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43075546