Barry couple rape review outcome heartbreaking - victim

A victim of a paedophile couple jailed for a series of rapes on girls has said she is disappointed by a review into the case.

Peter and Avril Griffiths raped and abused young girls they groomed in Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The review was carried out following the discovery a victim's earlier complaint was not acted on. 

Sally Ambridge, who was sexually abused and raped by them, said the review does not hold anyone accountable.   

A Historical Child Practice Review was completed on behalf of the Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Regional Safeguarding Board by two independent reviewers.

In a statement, Cardiff and the Vale Regional Safeguarding Board said the crimes of the couple were abhorrent but said this was "not an enquiry into how, or why events took place but developing current practice in response to this case of historic sexual abuse."

Ms Ambridge said she was "gobsmacked" the review had "found nothing".

"Someone needs to be held accountable for this and nobody has and that's heartbreaking," she said.

"I went through a lot of stuff, for them to find nothing and no one else has been arrested for this and only two people. That's shocking. No one has been held accountable for that, which is wrong," Ms Ambridge said.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Peter Griffiths used his wife - claimed to have a low IQ - as "bait" to help him ensnare young girls.

'Sinister sexual abuser'

One rape took place in the back of a van. Another on a boat where so-called "sex parties" were held where it was claimed police officers were on board. 

Paedophile Peter Griffiths was described in court as a "sinister sexual abuser" and Avril as his "true partner in crime". 

South Wales Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over an investigation in 2000.  

Detective Chief Inspector Jason Davies of South Wales Police said: "An investigation in 2019 - under the banner of Operation Meadow - looked into a number of matters which had been raised in relation to this case, including those contained within a BBC TV programme. This investigation resulted in further evidence of abuse being identified and led to David John Stanley, from Barry, being convicted of nine counts of rape committed during the late 1970s and sentenced to nine years in prison.

"Operation Meadow did not identify any further victims of abuse and no evidence of a wider paedophile network," he said.

Ms Ambridge also expressed concern at one of the findings of the review.

It said "not all participants felt confident and some expressed anxiety in how to intervene effectively in order to bring about change in a situation and how best to support victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation ."

Ms Ambridge said: "If social workers are saying that. That's their job to protect children and if they can't speak out, they are in the wrong job."

Ms Ambridge waited 25 years to tell the police the couple raped her as a child, fearing she wouldn't be believed.  

"I'd tell social workers. If you see it, say it. Don't be anxious or afraid.

"I wish I'd have come forward when it first happened to me and I wish someone had seen the signs in me and had reported it for me." 

Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Regional Safeguarding Board said: "The review found that a major issue for professionals is how to move to being proactive and actively looking for and recognising signs of abuse. Supervision and support, multi-agency training and development, and regular reporting back to the Regional Safeguarding Board were all identified as being important in achieving this."

However, Ms Ambridge did welcome some of the outcomes of the review. One of the key learning points she felt important to take forward, is that professionals must not label children as challenging or difficult but consider why they are behaving this way. And think "troubled, not trouble". 

She also supported the fact work is starting in schools to change attitudes.

The review said "work is underway on a shift in the tolerance of sexually abusive and aggressive behaviour and exploitation in schools is required. If this does not happen then it will lead to some young people not recognising that they are being abused or sexually exploited. There is a danger that it becomes the norm and children and young people then feeling it is something they just have to put up with."

Ms Ambridge welcomed both these outcomes of the review. However, she expressed her frustration of not being involved in this review.

"It happened to me, so I feel I should have been involved and a lot of this review is because of what happened to me. So, I do feel my input would have been important. I thought we would have had more of a voice and not just in court but with the aftereffects of it all. If I'd have had a say. I could have given them a first-hand account. I would have thought they would have spoken to one of us girls who suffered abuse. They don't know what it's like, but we do."

Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Regional Safeguarding Board says "discussions took place at the review panel about involving victims of the abuse but after taking advice from a range of professionals, it was decided that because of the historic nature of the abuse this would have been a very difficult experience for them to revisit which may have caused further trauma". They also said "The review covered a period which began at least 35 years ago. It was therefore impossible to involve any practitioners who had been working at the time. "

Sally Ambridge said it has left her still looking for answers: "There's just no real outcome from this review for me. It's heart-breaking."