Inquiry into child abuse in Nottinghamshire opens on Monday

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is holding three weeks of public hearings into the sexual abuse of children in the care of Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County Councils

The first week of hearings (from October 1-5) will be held in Nottingham at the Trent Bridge cricket ground.

More than 300 alleged victims have now come forward in Nottinghamshire.

The Mansfield Chad is backing a campaign to urge survivors of sexual abuse in Nottinghamshire’s children’s homes to come forward as the true scale of the scandal is slowly being revealed.

David Hollas, an advocate for the Nottinghamshire Child Sexual Abuse Survivors Group is urging more survivors of abuse to have the confidence to come forward.

He created the Nottingham CSA survivors group, creating platforms to engage with the authorities.

He said: “If there are survivors who have yet to come forward they should do, they will be listened to, and they will be supported.”

He added: “We are not just talking about two homes and 20 kids we are talking about 300 kids whose lives have been ruined by sexual abuse in care.

“My plea is for anybody who was a victim of abuse in care, including foster care, that now is the time to come forward and take the support that is available, to deal with the demons so they can rebuild their lives.

“The first thing to do is to contact the police. The national inquiry has the Truth Project where they can tell their stories in a supported environment.”

This hearing will examine:

The nature and extent of the sexual abuse of children in the care of Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County Councils, including those cared for in children’s homes and by foster carers and/or adoptive parents.

Institutional responses to the sexual abuse of children in the care of Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County Councils, including those cared for in children’s homes and by foster carers and/or adoptive parents.

Failures of the Councils to protect children from sexual abuse.

The appropriateness of the response of the Councils, law enforcement agencies, prosecuting authorities and other public authorities to reports of child sexual abuse involving children cared for by the Councils, and/or reports of child sexual abuse by individuals who were employed or contracted by the Councils.

The extent to which the Councils sought to investigate, learn lessons, implement changes, and/or provide support to victims and survivors

The first week of hearings (from 1-5 October) will be held in Nottingham at the Trent Bridge cricket ground.

A second week of hearings (from 8-12 October) and the third week of hearings (from 22-26 October) will be held at the the Inquiry’s hearing centre, 18 Pocock Street, London SE1 0BW.

The public hearings will take place between 10.00am and 4.15pm each day.

The hearings are open to the public and seats are allocated on a first come, first served basis.