More milk teeth found at Jersey abuse-probe home

More milk teeth have been unearthed at Haut de la Garenne, the former children’s home at the centre of an abuse investigation.

Jersey Police said today that a further 21 teeth had been discovered, bringing the running total to 48.

All the teeth, apart from one found in a cistern, were recovered from the network of cellars being excavated as part of the police probe.

A police spokeswoman said: “Although detailed testing has yet to take place, early indications are that most if not all the teeth found are milk teeth.

“There are currently 26 teeth in the UK undergoing examination while the rest remain in Jersey. Once the sieving process is complete, the remaining teeth will be submitted for examination in the UK.”

Haut de la Garenne is at the centre of one of Britain's biggest abuse investigations, with more than 100 people claiming they were abused.

Police have excavated four secret underground chambers at the building, referred to as punishment rooms by some victims, and have found shackles, a large blood-stained bath and numerous other children’s teeth.

Police have said tests on the teeth already discovered have revealed that most were “very unlikely to have come out naturally before death”.

Police have also recovered at least 30 charred human bone fragments and in one cellar found the haunting message “I’ve been bad for years and years” scrawled on a wooden post.

Of the bone fragments unearthed, tests have found that some were cut while others were burned, indicating that unlawful killing had taken place, with the victims’ bodies possibly cremated in a fireplace.

The police inquiry began in February after the discovery of what was initially believed to be part of a child’s skull but was later thought to be wood or part of a coconut.

Following the find, scores of people came forward claiming they were abused at the home and claiming they were drugged, raped and beaten.

Police said there are more than 40 suspects.

Three men have been charged with sexual abuse offences as part of the historical inquiry.

Gordon Claude Wateridge (aged 76), originally from Croydon, south London, is charged with three offences of indecent assault on girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979 while he was warder at the home.

Claude Donnelly (aged 68), of St Brelade, is charged with raping and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl on Jersey between 1971 and 1974.

Donnelly is not connected to Haut de la Garenne.

Michael Aubin (aged 45), is charged with indecently assaulting a seven-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy and one count of buggery on an eight-year-old boy, all between January 1, 1977 and December 31, 1980.

The charges relate to three different children at the home.

Aubin, of St Denys, Portswood, Southampton, will next appear before Jersey Magistrates’ Court on June 30.

A fourth man, a 50-year-old ex-police officer, arrested in connection with the investigation, was last week released without charge.