\n<\/p>\n
Anne and Jane* were 10 years old when a member of staff connected with their British military school in B\u00fcnde, Germany is alleged to have singled them out and sexually abused them.<\/p>\n
Now in their 50s, the women say he coerced them into keeping silent, and for decades they had only discussed their experiences with one another. \u201cHe said if we ever told anybody, then our fathers would lose their jobs and they would be kicked out of the army,\u201d Jane said. \u201cBeing two young 10-year-old girls who basically followed their fathers around the world, their jobs were our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
But five years ago, with her father retired from military service, Anne found out the man was still alive and decided to come forward to report the alleged abuse. She said she did so in the hope that she and Jane would finally see justice.<\/p>\n
More than 40 years later, they are affected by what they allege happened to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was my first sexual encounter at the age of 10,\u201d Jane said. \u201cI struggled with relationships at an early age \u2026 I\u2019ve never ever been able to be in a loving relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similarly, Anne said that from a young age \u201cthere was a spiral of self-destruction\u201d and she had been left traumatised. As a school governor, she said smells from her childhood brought back memories of the alleged abuse. \u201cI remember walking through the school corridor, and I just felt sick,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But despite their efforts to bring their alleged abuser to justice, <\/strong>a joint investigation by the Guardian and openDemocracy has found that he cannot be prosecuted, because although he was a British citizen, employed by the British army, incomplete records of his employment have repeatedly halted investigations into the allegations.<\/p>\n Nato rules state that countries with armed forces abroad can apply their laws to people who fall under their jurisdiction, including serving members of the military and civilian employees. But the absence of the man\u2019s employment contract, along with no proof that he paid tax to the British crown, meant the police could not prove he was employed on a Ministry of Defence (MoD) London contract rather than a locally employed contract.<\/p>\n The women say the MoD refuses to take responsibility for the abuse they allege they suffered while under its care.<\/p>\n _____<\/p>\n Anne and Jane believe their alleged abuser deliberately targeted them because they were isolated from other children at the school.<\/p>\n \u201cI was shy, very, very shy and introverted, and also struggled with all the moving,\u201d Anne said. \u201cI was in quite a bad place anyway by the time I got to Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n She said it initially felt \u201cso exciting to be singled out by this incredibly charismatic man. Everyone sort of swooned in his presence, adults and children alike.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cWhen he did turn his gaze very singly on me, I absolutely fell for it.\u201d<\/p>\n The man\u2019s interactions with the girls became sexual, they said, with much of the alleged abuse taking place in his office.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce we\u2019d get into that room, he\u2019d lock the door from the inside,\u201d Jane said, \u201cand then it went very, very dark very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Jane can still remember the number plate of his car, reciting it effortlessly. \u201cMy stomach used to sink when I saw that car,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause I knew he was in there and I knew what the day was going to entail for both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n The alleged abuse, which took place in the 1980s, began to affect the girls straight away. Anne said she \u201cwent into a state of terror\u201d at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cI was having night terrors, I was sleepwalking, I believed someone was outside looking into my bedroom. I hated getting changed at night, I\u2019d go to bed in my clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n _________<\/p>\n Anne and Jane kept in contact for a few years after they left the school, writing letters to each other in which they would reference the alleged abuse \u2013 and which Anne still has.<\/p>\n But later they lost touch. It was only when they were in their 50s that they reconnected on Facebook, after Anne had come forward in 2018 to disclose what had happened as part of the Truth Project, run by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales.<\/p>\n As part of her disclosure, Anne said she would be willing for the police to be notified, and the case was passed to the Royal Military Police (RMP).<\/p>\n The force told her that it would only be able to proceed with the case if it was able to track down Jane to corroborate her story.<\/p>\n Around the time the pair connected online, detectives also found Jane, after the police knocked on her parents\u2019 door and told them that the RMP needed to speak to her as an \u201cimportant witness\u201d in a case \u2013 leading her to disclose to her parents for the first time what had happened to her.<\/p>\n With the RMP now able to investigate, Anne believed her alleged abuser would be brought to justice.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought they could arrest him and make him go to court and go to prison,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Her hopes were shattered when the RMP said it was unable to progress the case because they did not have jurisdiction.<\/p>\n She was told that her alleged abuser could not be prosecuted in the UK because they could not find evidence that he had paid tax to HMRC, meaning that the case would have to be prosecuted in Germany \u2013 where the statute of limitations had expired.<\/p>\n The women were also told the RMP had been unable to find any evidence of his tax contributions in Germany.<\/p>\n Although the RMP was passed some evidence <\/strong>of his employment at the school, including staff lists, witness accounts and photographs, a lack of more formal evidence about his employment or tax status stalled all progress in their case.<\/p>\n After the women complained about the outcome, they received a written apology from a senior officer, who said: \u201cThe handling of your case fell below the professional standards you had every right to expect.\u201d<\/p>\n The MoD\u2019s then newly formed Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU) launched a second investigation, but it reached the same conclusion. Army records for the school from the time had been destroyed, and without evidence of his employment contract, which may have indicated his tax status, they were told there was no way forward.<\/p>\n Jane said it felt like \u201canother door slamming in your face\u201d when the second investigation ended.<\/p>\n __________________<\/p>\n While Anne and Jane want justice for themselves, they are also telling their story in the hope that it may resonate with others and expose the jurisdiction issues that have denied them resolution.<\/p>\n Emma Norton, a lawyer from the Centre for Military Justice, said: \u201cTo be told after so long, and after having taken the incredibly brave step of reporting the abuse, that nothing now can be done because they appear to have fallen into a \u2018jurisdictional gap\u2019 is devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cGiven the number of overseas military schools, there is a serious risk that this gap is likely to affect other victims too.\u201d<\/p>\n Jess Phillips, a former safeguarding minister, said the case \u201cexposes a cultural issue within the MoD\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe MoD needs to treat these two women as people who have been wrongfully treated while under their care,\u201d she said. \u201cWe do not have to continue the cultural failing of the past \u2013 we can make the future better.\u201d<\/p>\n Jane said: \u201cThe MoD had a duty of care to us. They were our caregivers.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cWe need somebody to stand up and say: \u2018We failed you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n While they are losing hope that their alleged abuser may be prosecuted, they are still fighting for an acknowledgment of, and accountability for, the alleged childhood abuse they say they suffered and that has affected their whole lives.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should not have had to go through that,\u201d Anne said. \u201cI want public accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n But she feels increasingly pessimistic that anyone will be held responsible for what she and Jane experienced. \u201cHope feels like a very stupid act right now for me,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Defence Serious Crime Command, which the DSCU is part of, said: \u201cEvery child has the right to be safe at school, and our thoughts remain with the victims.<\/p>\n \u201cWe deeply regret that the initial handling of the case fell below the standards we expect and have formally apologised to the victims. A new investigation launched earlier this year concluded the Defence Serious Crime Command does not have jurisdiction to pursue charges.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have taken a number of steps to strengthen investigative practices across defence and remain committed to ensuring every case is fully and thoroughly investigated to deliver justice for victims.\u201d<\/p>\n *Names have been changed<\/em><\/p>\n In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anne and Jane* were 10 years old when a member of staff connected with their British military school in B\u00fcnde, Germany is alleged to have singled them out and sexually abused them. Now in their 50s, the women say he coerced them into keeping silent, and for decades they had only discussed their experiences with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[682,8029,1038,336,2171,2794,1575,2282,744,334,2933,1388,418],"class_list":{"0":"post-52441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-justice","8":"tag-abuse","9":"tag-agonising","10":"tag-alleged","11":"tag-british","12":"tag-fight","13":"tag-germany","14":"tag-girls","15":"tag-justice","16":"tag-military","17":"tag-school","18":"tag-victims","19":"tag-violence","20":"tag-women"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}