ANTHONY JORDAN AND MORAG FROM JERSEY AND KIRRIEMUIR SENTENCED FOR CHILD ABUSE AT HAUT DE LA GARENNE

In a case that has shocked the public and reopened painful memories of past abuses, a married couple from Angus, Morag and Anthony Jordan, have been sentenced to prison for their involvement in a series of brutal assaults on vulnerable children at the notorious Haut de la Garenne care home in Jersey. The Jordans, both aged 62 and originally from Kirriemuir, faced justice after a lengthy investigation into allegations of child abuse that spanned decades.

During a two-week trial held at the Royal Court of Jersey, the couple was found guilty in November of eight separate charges linked to their roles as houseparents at the care facility during the 1970s and 1980s. The court heard harrowing details of their conduct, with prosecutors describing their actions as “casual and routine violence” inflicted upon children under their care. Witnesses and victims recounted how the Jordans behaved like “intimidating bullies,” carrying out “frequent and callous” assaults on children who were already in a vulnerable state.

The investigation into Haut de la Garenne was one of the most extensive police inquiries in recent history, involving a multi-million pound effort to uncover the extent of abuse at the facility. The couple’s arrest was a direct result of this comprehensive probe, which aimed to bring justice to those who suffered in silence for years.

On the day of sentencing, the court, presided over by Commissioner Sir Christopher Pitchers, handed down a sentence of nine months in prison for Morag Jordan and six months for Anthony Jordan. Some of the victims, who had sat in the public gallery during the proceedings, were visibly emotional as the verdicts were announced, with some breaking down in tears.

Morag Jordan, who was employed as a housemother at Haut de la Garenne from 1970 to 1984, was convicted of assaulting four children. One particularly distressing incident involved her pushing a child’s face into sheets soaked with urine after the child had wet the bed. The jury’s decision followed more than eight hours of deliberation, during which they carefully considered the evidence presented.

While the Jordans were convicted on eight counts, they were also acquitted of numerous other charges. Morag Jordan was cleared of 28 additional counts, and Anthony Jordan of four. The jury specifically rejected allegations that Morag had force-fed children or pulled a child around by the ears, as well as accusations that children’s faces had been rubbed in puddles of urine. However, Morag was found guilty of physically hitting residents with her hand and a wooden shoe, while Anthony was convicted of common assault against two children, with evidence showing he had struck children with a metal spoon, a knife, or his hand.

Anthony Jordan, originally from South Wales, was acquitted of charges involving squeezing a boy’s face and hitting him in the stomach. Despite the acquittals, the convictions mark a significant moment in the ongoing effort to confront and acknowledge past abuses at Haut de la Garenne, and serve as a stark reminder of the cruelty inflicted upon vulnerable children in institutional care.