East Devon District Council 'did not officially know about abuse case'

John Humphreys was the mayor of Exmouth from 2010 to 2012 and a councillor for 12 years

A council which allowed a paedophile councillor to stay in office for three years after he was arrested on suspicion of child sex abuse has said it did not "officially" know about the allegations.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) admits an employee was told about the investigation in two safeguarding meetings held before John Humphreys was arrested in 2016.

But it said the individual who attended was bound by confidentiality rules.

In August 2021 Humphreys was sentenced to 21 years in jail for historic sex abuse against two boys.

He was first arrested for the offences in summer 2016, but he stayed on as a councillor until May 2019 - before being made an honorary alderman in December that year.

An independent review into the response of Devon County Council's Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) Service to Allegations of Abuse was published earlier this month.

It said a LADO meeting was held in 2014 after historic allegations were made against Humphreys, but after discussions with police no further action was taken.

Two meetings were held in 2016 - in March and April - when police were investigating allegations of abuse.

These meetings considered Humphreys contact with children and it was established he did not work with children and there was no allegation of abuse at that time.

A further discussion was agreed but a meeting did not take place.

The independent review found no evidence this left any child at risk.

Report recommendations

• The service should make sure that there is clarity about the role of the LADO service both within Devon County Council and with partners so that the service has oversight only of those cases which meet the remit set out in guidance

• The service should make sure discussions are recorded sufficiently thoroughly so that the rationale behind decisions, including decisions about holding meetings and who should attend these, is clear

• The service should make sure that the discussion of allegations is fully transparent to those against whom these have been made, in line with the need to keep children safe

• The service should track work effectively to make sure this is brought to a clear conclusion and not allowed to drift or be lost

Source: Independent Review Report

Independent councillor Jess Bailey, from Devon County Council (DCC), said: "I don't believe Devon County Council's report thoroughly looked at all the issues.

"I believe that as a councillor you play a key role in a community and that includes having contact with children.

"So I believe that there are many issues that the report simply hasn't considered."

The decision-making process that led to Humphreys being honoured as an alderman is subject to another investigation, which East Devon District Council has declined to comment on until its findings are published

East Devon District Council was asked what actions it took to mitigate any risk that Humphreys could have posed to young people.

In a statement it said: "East Devon District Council never officially knew that John Humphreys had been charged by Devon and Cornwall Police until this news was made public.

"The EDDC officer who had attended the LADO meetings mentioned in the DCC report was in attendance under the strictest condition of maintaining confidentiality."

The decision-making process that led to Humphreys being honoured as an alderman is subject to another investigation, which the council has declined to comment on until its findings are published.

Devon County Council said in a statement the independent review had concluded there "were no missed opportunities to safeguard children".

A spokesperson added: "We do acknowledge, however, that while the council has been found to have responded appropriately to circumstances at the time, its oversight could have been sharper.

"Since that time much has changed with improved processes in place to respond to children's safeguarding concerns.

"We will continue to... review our procedures and strengthen our safeguarding practice."

Devon and Cornwall Police said: "The appropriate and agreed route for sharing sensitive information with relevant partners is through the LADO process.

"Once a partner has been informed of the risk, it is down to them to manage this issue internally as they see fit.

"We believe that East Devon District Council, with the support of Devon County Council, are undertaking an internal review into this process."

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