OFFENDERS JEFFREY AND BRENDA TANNER OF PETERBOROUGH SENTENCED FOR SYSTEMATIC CHILD ABUSE
In July 2002, Jeffrey and Brenda Tanner, a foster couple from Gladstone Street, Peterborough, were sentenced to prison for a series of severe acts of cruelty and terror inflicted upon two young children, a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl.The couple’s three adult children were also imprisoned for assaulting and harassing a 40-year-old woman.
Jeffrey Tanner, described by the judge as "the commander," received a seven-year sentence, while Brenda, aged 53, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years for their systematic abuse of the children.
Kings Lynn Crown Court heard that despite social services knowing Tanner had two prior convictions for assault causing actual bodily harm in 1981 and 1987, they still approved the Tanners to be foster parents.
Additionally, the couple had refused any formal training for fostering, the court was told.
The abuse was uncovered in January 2000 after the Tanners’ adult children and a family friend were accused of assaulting a woman.
The children, now young adults, revealed details of their own experiences during the investigation.
The court heard that the 12-year-old boy was forced to drink urine, eat excrement, hold books over his head for extended periods, and was regularly beaten.
His head was shaved using an electric trimmer designed for pets, and he was barred from sitting on sofas or chairs, which were reserved for the family’s dogs.
His bathing involved being scrubbed with a scouring pad.
The 13-year-old girl endured similar bizarre disciplinary methods and cruelty over more than two years.
She was punched, forced to hold heavy barbells over her head for long periods, and had excrement forced into her mouth.
Tammy Tanner even encouraged a dog to scratch and claw at her back.
Judge Isobel Plumstead condemned Jeffrey Tanner, stating, "You were the commander of a cruel dynasty.
Your word was law in the household and your law was neither fair nor just." She added, "Tanner society is one where you are either a bully or be bullied.
The family line was that a Tanner victim was the author of their own misfortune." The couple’s three children—Preston, age 20, sentenced to 12 months; Aaron, 25, also sentenced to 12 months; and Tammy, 28, sentenced to 18 months—were said to have mimicked their parents' violent behavior, humiliating the woman by making her dance naked while holding heavy weights.
Friend Wayne Muffett, 29, was jailed for two-and-a-half years for assaulting and harassing the woman.
The Tanners and Muffett admitted to nine counts of assault and harassment, though the parents had been previously convicted of 20 offences including grievous bodily harm, wounding, and administering harmful substances; they denied the charges.
The investigation, part of the police and NSPCC’s Operation Farnell, revealed shocking levels of cruelty that even seasoned officers found disturbing.
The case highlighted failures in the social services system, which had granted the Tanners foster care status despite their criminal history.
The girl came into the Tanners’ home in October 1989 as a foster child, two years after Jeffrey Tanner’s last conviction.
Her plea for help, written before her removal in December 1991, was ignored.
The boy was informally taken in between 1984 and 1987 with social services aware but without official foster status.
Mr.
Pini, representing social services, stated, "Newspaper reports have stated that full checks were made on Jeffrey and Brenda Tanner, revealing Tanner’s two previous convictions.
It is a matter of public interest that when checks were made, they showed Tanner had convictions for assault in 1981 and 1987.
Despite this, in 1989, he was approved as a foster carer, and the couple declined mandatory training." The case was part of the joint investigation by the NSPCC's Specialist Investigation Service and Cambridgeshire police.
Malcolm Muskett, NSPCC spokesman, said, "This family committed heinous crimes against vulnerable children in their care.
Many victims suffer in silence, but justice has now been served.
It is vital that the public and professionals work together to protect abused children." After the trial, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Bob Pearson commented, "I was unaware of Mr.
Pini’s statement that social services knew about Tanner’s convictions.
Either this information was ignored or not available, due to changes in administrative boundaries and record-keeping.
However, it is clear that the decision made by Peterborough Social Services to approve the Tanners as foster carers in 1989 was wrong.
The assessment, training, and supervision standards then were far below today’s standards."
