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The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has found no case to answer for misconduct against a detective sergeant at the centre of an independent investigation into how North Yorkshire Police handled two separate allegations of historic child abuse.

The IPCC investigation looked at how the force:

• handled information received in 2002 from a woman in her late 30s that she had been sexually abused by Jimmy Savile when she was 15;
• treated two disclosures in relation to child abuse in 2008 and 2009 from a serving prisoner regarding the late ex-Mayor of Scarborough Peter Jaconelli.

The IPCC investigation concluded that the detective sergeant, a constable at the time, investigated diligently and professionally in relation to both cases. However, in the investigation’s view, the officer should have submitted an intelligence report about Savile in 2002, based on his enquiries, which may have helped future investigations.

The IPCC also found the officer failed to complete intelligence reports in the investigation into the prisoner’s disclosures. Management action against the officer for unsatisfactory performance in these respects has since been taken by North Yorkshire Police.

The police investigation into the disclosures concluded that it was not possible to substantiate any of the information provided and eventually there were no other lines of enquiry that could be continued.

IPCC Commissioner Carl Gumsley said: “North Yorkshire Police has previously admitted that they missed opportunities to look into allegations against both Savile and Jaconelli while they were alive.

“Had intelligence information been better recorded it would have helped build up a picture of Savile and Jaconelli’s activities.

“However in terms of a detective constable who had a primary role in both the investigations, we examined these omissions and found that, while of concern, they did not amount, in the view of the investigation, to a case to answer for misconduct.”

The IPCC also has an independent investigation under way into how North Yorkshire Police handled a report received in October 2000 from a man alleging, as a young boy in the early 1970s, that he was sexually assaulted by Peter Jaconelli at locations in the Scarborough area.

North Yorkshire Police has an ongoing criminal investigation into historic child sexual abuse allegations.

NOTE TO EDITORS

Peter Jaconelli died in 1999. Jimmy Savile died in October 2011. The detective constable (now sergeant) was based at Scarborough/Filey CID.

The IPCC’s investigation report is available on here.