PAUL HARVEY AND SHOCKING SEXUAL ABUSE IN HULL AND DERBYSHIRE CHILDREN'S HOMES
A man identified as Paul Harvey has been convicted of grooming and sexually assaulting a teenage boy at a children's home in Derbyshire, more than forty years after the abuse took place.The case was brought to light after the victim, who had reported the abuse many years earlier, was not believed by authorities at the time.
Now, at 73 years old, Harvey faces justice for his actions.
The Derby Crown Court heard that the teenage boy, who was in the care of the Derbyshire children's homes, was sexually assaulted by Paul Harvey while he was employed as a social worker at Greenacres in Clay Cross, a facility managed by Derbyshire County Council.
Harvey, who was responsible for overseeing the well-being of the young residents, used his authority to groom the victim under the guise of kindness and care.
The victim was in care after previous allegations against another individual had resulted in his being convicted of assault.
During the trial, prosecutor Robert Underwood recounted that the sexual assault took place when the victim was in his mid-teens.
Harvey allegedly took the boy to a flat he was using, offered him lager which caused memory loss, and then the victim awoke to find himself with his trousers down, with Harvey on top of him in a sexual assault.
The boy later remembered this incident reminding him of previous sexual abuse he had endured.
Although Harvey instructed the boy not to tell anyone, the victim confided in another staff member.
Unfortunately, his complaint was not believed, and he was subsequently moved to Moorfields Children’s Home in Sinfin.
An investigation by local authorities followed, but officials at the time determined no action was necessary.
Undeterred, the victim continued to speak about his abuse over the years.
He later disclosed that another man, Duncan Ritchie, had also sexually abused him at Greenfield, leading to Ritchie's conviction and a 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence in 2017 after being found guilty of multiple sexual offenses involving teenagers.
The police initiated a formal inquiry into Harvey’s conduct in 2019, after the victim disclosed his experiences during an unrelated interview.
Harvey, then residing in Pilsley, initially denied the allegations and stated that the victim was moved due to being a troublemaker.
However, he later pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges.
The court heard that Harvey had a prior conviction in the 1980s, during which he served a 30-month prison sentence for similar offenses committed against boys at the same children's home.
Mitigating the sentence, John Dunning acknowledged that no words could undo the trauma suffered by the victim over the decades.
Harvey was handed a 12-month jail sentence, which was suspended for two years.
Further penalties included a £1,000 compensation order for the victim, a four-month curfew restricting Harvey to his home during the day (from 11 am to 10 pm), a ten-year sexual harm prevention order, and a requirement to register as a sex offender for ten years.
This case highlights the longstanding issues of abuse within care institutions, with the victim’s persistent courage in speaking out finally leading to accountability.
It also underscores the failure of past investigations to address the complaints adequately at the time, a matter that Derbyshire County Council publicly addressed in 2017 when they issued an apology concerning the convictions of other offenders like Duncan Ritchie in the same care system.
While Harvey's punishment offers some semblance of justice, the scars of the abuse continue to affect the survivor, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding and truthful investigations in protecting vulnerable children.
