How the game is played: Police say sorry for ignoring the ‘worst kept secret in Scarborough’

Peter Jaconelli

Suspected child abusers Jimmy Savile and Peter Jaconelli could have been captured 30 years ago, had police listened to their victims at the time.

That is the frank admission of North Yorkshire Police, with the force now confessing that it was told about the abuse decades ago – but decided not to do anything about it.

The force has now offered a full apology to the duo’s victims, after a report found there was “overwhelming” evidence to say they were guilty of dozens of 
serious sexual offences - including rape.

A report on Operation Hibiscus reveals that ice cream magnate Jaconelli carried out a four-decade campaign of abuse in Scarborough, and along with Savile, would have been arrested if still alive.

But with Jaconelli’s offending believed to have gone on until a year before his death in 1999, it means the police’s decision not to pursue the initial complaints let him continue abusing children for at least another decade.  (more...)

How the game is played: Police say sorry for ignoring the ‘worst kept secret in Scarborough’