Kevin Raymond Young, now 52, has recounted the horrific abuse he suffered as a teenager at Medomsley detention centre in County Durham. Sentenced to three months' detention for receiving stolen property in 1977, Young was immediately targeted by kitchen officer Neville Husband. Within 24 hours of arriving, Husband had selected Young from a breakfast queue and later took him to a locked storeroom above the kitchens.
Young described being repeatedly raped, tied up, and ligatured around the neck. He said Husband told him that a boy could easily be found hanged at Medomsley, claiming that six boys had already killed themselves that year. The abuse escalated when Husband took Young to his private home outside the prison gates, where Young was blindfolded, ligatured, and forced to lie on the stairs while three or four others raped him. A rope was tightened around his neck until he lost consciousness.
Young asserted that Husband was an expert at the procedure, a big and powerful man who had converted the storeroom into a lounge. The abuse continued for two months before Young was released. He later brought a civil action against authorities, supported by former Home Office senior psychologist Dr Elie Godsi, who described it as one of the worst sexual abuse cases he had encountered in 17 years.
The prison service and police had known about Husband's interest in boys since 1969, when he was arrested at Portland borstal for importing pornography involving teenage boys. The charges were dropped after Husband claimed he was researching homosexuality. The details remained on his employment record as he moved to Medomsley, where he abused boys aged 16 to 19 for 16 years. Victims and former staff allege he may have abused boys daily.
