Jersey children's home carer guilty of sex attacks
A former carer at a Jersey children’s home was found guilty today of indecently assaulting teenagers while he worked there in the 1970s.
Gordon Wateridge, nicknamed “the Perv” by his victims, carried out a string of assaults against teenage girls at the Haut de la Garenne home.
The 78-year-old, described as a “persistent sexual bully”, was found guilty of eight charges of indecent assault and one charge of assault following a trial at Jersey Royal Court.
The court heard that Wateridge would repeatedly grope girls' breasts, hug the teenagers inappropriately and kiss them on the neck.
He indecently assaulted three teenage girls and assaulted one teenage boy.
Youngsters sent to Haut de la Garenne were vulnerable and suffered from a variety of problems, the court heard.
But Wateridge, then in his 40s, abused his obligation to look after them.
Wateridge showed no emotion as the verdicts were returned.
He was warned by Judge Christopher Pitchers that he faced a custodial sentence.
A jury of 10 men and two women began their deliberations on Tuesday afternoon following the trial, which ran for seven days.
Wateridge, who was born in Croydon, south London, and now lives in the Jersey parish of St Clement, was the first person to be charged in connection with an historic abuse investigation on the island, police said.
Speaking outside court, Detective Superintendent Mick Gradwell, from the States of Jersey police, said: "Gordon Wateridge, a house parent at Haut de la Garenne, was a sexual bully towards vulnerable young girls in his care.
"We hope the complainants involved in this trial have received some comfort from the decision reached by the court.
"I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and effort of the people involved in this case such as the investigation team, the witness liaison officers and the legal team, as well as the challenges the complainants have had to face both before and during this trial.
"The historical abuse inquiry is continuing and there is another case in the court process.
"I am unable to comment about the investigation in wider detail at this time.
"We would like to emphasise that the States of Jersey Police take reports of historical abuse seriously, and are committed to investigating them."
The court heard harrowing accounts of the abuse children suffered at the hands of Wateridge.
One victim repeatedly broke down in tears as she recalled how the house parent would regularly lean out and grab her and other girls as they walked past the home's snooker table.
The woman, who was taken into the home after her father unexpectedly died, said Wateridge would push her on to the snooker table and grope her breasts and inner thighs.
She said: "I remember lying on my back with my feet on the floor, he was pretending to tickle me but from my point of view he was having a good feel.
"His hands would be moving up and down the inside of my leg."
Asked how these encounters made her feel, the woman replied: "It wasn't right - how would you feel? I was a girl of 13 or 14, he was a big man, I would be shouting to stop."
She added: "I found him creepy - he gave me the creeps, he was smarmy."
Asked why she had not told anyone about the abuse, she replied: "Because no one would have listened."
Another witness, also aged 53, was sent to Haut de la Garenne after running away from home.
She told the court she had been left feeling "dirty" after being repeatedly groped by Wateridge.
"He would do things like smacking your bottom, grabbing you and giving you bear hugs."
She added: "When he grabbed you from behind he would more often than not touch your breasts in some way."
She said that on one occasion Wateridge told her she had "child-bearing hips".
The woman added: "It was not something you would expect an adult to say to a child."
Asked how she felt at the time regarding Wateridge's actions, she said: "It made me feel dirty, to be honest."
A man who stayed at the home as a teenager recounted how he was attacked by Wateridge after he told the house parent to leave his sister alone.
The 50-year-old said he had heard his sister cry out while she stood close to Wateridge.
He told the court: "He grabbed my hair and said, 'Is there a problem, boy?' I said, 'no', and he pushed me to the floor."
Stephen Baker, prosecuting, told the jury Wateridge was a bully.
He said: "He was a persistent sexual bully, frequently touching young teenage girls in a sexual manner."
Wateridge consistently denied all charges against him and insisted he had never touched any of the children at Haut de la Garenne.
Giving evidence, he told the court the allegations ruined his life.
The pensioner tried various bizarre disguises to evade the press as he arrived at court each morning.
On one occasion he hid himself totally under a long coat and on another arrived wearing a baseball cap, with his face obscured by wraparound sunglasses and a brightly-coloured scarf.
He was released on bail and will be sentenced at Jersey Royal Court in September.
