IMO there were no sexual assaults on British kids in PDL.

[Brietta]

And the victims families supressed their outrage aswell, that's the bit I don't get.

As a parent,  if my daughter had been sexually assaulted during a family holiday I would find it hard not to scream from the rooftops about how the crime appeared to have been brushed under the carpet.

How do you know that some parents didn’t actually “scream from the rooftops”? 

We have no information about what happened to those reports given to the police in Portugal at the time and what action or inaction occurred as a result.

We don't know if parents thought the assault was being investigated or 'brushed under the carpet'.  It would be fair to assume the parents would think their case was unique in the lack of information to the contrary. 

That the British consul was able to give Dr McCann information about home invasion and assaults on British children suggests to me that there had been efforts made by the parents of the victims to have this man apprehended. 

Perhaps the consulate were informed by the GNR, although I have no idea if Portuguese secrecy laws would have allowed sharing this information.

Perhaps the consulate were informed by British police who were acting on information received from returning holidaymakers anxious to ascertain how their daughter’s case was being progressed in Portugal.

Perhaps the consulate was contacted by parents frustrated that no action was being taken and who did suspect or know their child's case was being 'swept under the carpet'.  We just don't know.

I do not believe you really know exactly how you would react were your child violated in a foreign country.   

“Screaming from the rooftops” would probably not take into consideration the additional psychological trauma you might impose on the victim. 

Your implicit criticism of victims without knowing the full circumstances of each case IMO serves only to deter people with information coming forward in the face of such censure. 

Bad enough to have been attacked, worse to be condemned because a crime which you reported at the time was not investigated.

So unless you are in full possession of all the facts please do not project what your actions would have been in a given situation onto the people most affected by the crime, I don’t think you would know what you would do until it happened to you.

[Brietta]

I don't know why you wish to drag me in to this argument. But since you insist:

My response to the idea that a child is at all responsible for his/her own abuse or that of subsequent victims can be found on page 3 or 4 of this thread, but it short, no a child is never responsible.

As to WS's later posts about all the adults involved having a responsibility to stop it happening to anyone, I have mixed feelings.

Yes, adults need to protect children. It was the parents responsibility to report it to the police and the polices responsibility to make an arrest.

Over the last couple of pages WS has made some sense. If there was a cover up and if people who could alter the situation kept quiet, they are guilty too.

If the parent weren't aware that there had been other incidents though, they would probably be more concerned with their own child's welfare and recovery.

I don't think getting the press involved would've helped in the slightest. I think that it would've put the victims at risk of further harm by exposing them to all kinds of crap. Including the crap we're posting here.

Agreed, Cariad, and it is perfectly possible some parents were not made aware at the time what had happened.

These are complex issues to which everyone reacts differently, and I don't even want to think about the damage which may have been caused to these children as they grew into their formative years.

[John]

Reading between the lines there appears to be evidence that at least some of these attacks were reported to police and the British authorities in Portugal.

Are we now saying that both conspired to keep this information from the public at large and in doing so contributed to the alleged abduction of Madeleine McCann?

If true, this is indeed a serious indictment!

[jassi]

Reading between the lines there appears to be evidence that at least some of these attacks were reported to police and the British authorities in Portugal.

Are we now saying that both conspired to keep this information from the public at large and in doing so contributed to the alleged abduction of Madeleine McCann?

Conspiracy requires collusion between two or more  parties. Failing to publicise this information may just have been simply a failure to do anything with the details available to them.

[Wonderfulspam]

Reading between the lines there appears to be evidence that at least some of these attacks were reported to police and the British authorities in Portugal.

Are we now saying that both conspired to keep this information from the public at large and in doing so contributed to the alleged abduction of Madeleine McCann?

If true, this is indeed a serious indictment!

Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry, both of them doctors from Rothley in Leicestershire, were first warned of an alarming number of cases in the Algarve by Bill Henderson, the British consul in the region. He told the McCanns shortly after the abduction that there had been "several cases of men getting into bed with children". When police made public their files on the case in the summer of 2008, Mrs McCann discovered five cases of British children being sexually abused in their beds while on holiday and while their parents slept in another room.
 
The incidents are said to have occurred within a one-hour drive of Praia da Luz in the three years before Madeleine, then aged three, went missing on May 3rd 2007. She believes the Portuguese police failed to investigate any possible links between the cases and the disappearance of Madeleine.
 
"It broke my heart to read the terrible accounts of these devastated parents and the experiences of their poor children," writes Mrs mcCann, adding: "What these cases do demonstrate, however, is that British tourists in holiday accommodation were being targeted... It is so hard not to scream from the rooftops about how these crimes appear to have been brushed under the carpet."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/madeleinemccann/8500353/Kate-McCann-accuses-Algarve-police-of-sex-abuse-cover-up.html

He told the McCanns shortly after the abduction that there had been "several cases of men getting into bed with children

It was good of the British Consul to tell the McCanns, but not bother to mention it to the public wasn't it.

They waited for her to write about it in 2011, rather than doing anything themselves.

[Brietta]

Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry, both of them doctors from Rothley in Leicestershire, were first warned of an alarming number of cases in the Algarve by Bill Henderson, the British consul in the region. He told the McCanns shortly after the abduction that there had been "several cases of men getting into bed with children". When police made public their files on the case in the summer of 2008, Mrs McCann discovered five cases of British children being sexually abused in their beds while on holiday and while their parents slept in another room.
 
The incidents are said to have occurred within a one-hour drive of Praia da Luz in the three years before Madeleine, then aged three, went missing on May 3rd 2007. She believes the Portuguese police failed to investigate any possible links between the cases and the disappearance of Madeleine.
 
"It broke my heart to read the terrible accounts of these devastated parents and the experiences of their poor children," writes Mrs mcCann, adding: "What these cases do demonstrate, however, is that British tourists in holiday accommodation were being targeted... It is so hard not to scream from the rooftops about how these crimes appear to have been brushed under the carpet."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/madeleinemccann/8500353/Kate-McCann-accuses-Algarve-police-of-sex-abuse-cover-up.html

He told the McCanns shortly after the abduction that there had been "several cases of men getting into bed with children

It was good of the British Consul to tell the McCanns, but not bother to mention it to the public wasn't it.

They waited for her to write about it in 2011, rather than doing anything themselves.

At the time of being given the information Dr McCann was bound by Portuguese secrecy laws which prevented her discussing the case under investigation.

Why do you suppose it was the responsibility of Dr McCann whose own daughter had been the victim of a heinous crime, to take action on these cases?

Don't you think that should properly have been the responsibility of the authorities?

In the interim, after Dr McCann publicised the events in 2011, do you know what action was taken by the people with the power to do something about it?

[Wonderfulspam]

At the time of being given the information Dr McCann was bound by Portuguese secrecy laws which prevented her discussing the case under investigation.

Why do you suppose it was the responsibility of Dr McCann whose own daughter had been the victim of a heinous crime, to take action on these cases?

Don't you think that should properly have been the responsibility of the authorities?

In the interim, after Dr McCann publicised the events in 2011, do you know what action was taken by the people with the power to do something about it?

Why do you suppose it was the responsibility of Dr McCann

I don't, you misunderstood, I worded that badly sorry, I meant the British Authorities, what did they say?

That's right, Nothing.

Nothing, nothing, nothing. Nothing was what they said, nothing.

British Holiday makers, heading for the Algarve with there precious little daughters in tow, were told nothing.

Nothing.

The British authorities knew that there had been "several cases of men getting into bed with children"

& that

"What these cases do demonstrate, however, is that British tourists in holiday accommodation were being targeted...

And the sum total of things the British authorities had to say to the public on the issue was...nothing.

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

[Carana]

Why do you suppose it was the responsibility of Dr McCann

I don't, you misunderstood, I worded that badly sorry, I meant the British Authorities, what did they say?

That's right, Nothing.

Nothing, nothing, nothing. Nothing was what they said, nothing.

British Holiday makers, heading for the Algarve with there precious little daughters in tow were told nothing.

Nothing.

The British authorities knew that there had been "several cases of men getting into bed with children"

"What these cases do demonstrate, however, is that British tourists in holiday accommodation were being targeted...

And the sum total of things the British authorities had to say to the public on the issue was...nothing.

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

For all your offensive wummery (by your own admission), I think you're actually sincere on this point.

I'm sure any affected family would have preferred to have known that there was a serial abuser on the loose. However, the diplomatic service is supposed to be... diplomatic. They can't go around issuing warnings to potential visitors to a foreign country in the absence of a major threat of potentially uncontrollable dimensions (usually civil war, terrorism, etc.). A Portuguese consul or ambassador wouldn't go around telling everyone to avoid the UK because Moat was on the loose, for example, nor because knifers in London might attack Portuguese citizens.

IMO, the real culprits are the predator (perhaps more than one) and what so far seems to have been a lack of any serious investigation into this by the Algarve police forces until recently.

This selective "judicial secrecy" has meant that crimes are only reported when the police have been successful in arresting someone for a crime. However, the same Algarve police were leaking daily with half-truths about the McCanns... To this day, some people refuse (or pretend not) to accept that any crimes against children ever happened in this popular tourist destination.

The Oporto PJ have managed to reopen the case, presumably based on potential leads that were never adequately followed up. Whether or not a connection can be established between these other crimes and Madeleine's disappearance remains to be seen.

[Wonderfulspam]

For all your offensive wummery (by your own admission), I think you're actually sincere on this point.

That's  correct, I'm pretty bloody horrified that so many adults, on all sides, who knew, decided that the best course of action to take would be that they just said nothing.

And then ....nothing more.... was said. 

Nothing.

[Brietta]

Why do you suppose it was the responsibility of Dr McCann

I don't, you misunderstood, I worded that badly sorry, I meant the British Authorities, what did they say?

That's right, Nothing.

Nothing, nothing, nothing. Nothing was what they said, nothing.

British Holiday makers, heading for the Algarve with there precious little daughters in tow, were told nothing.

Nothing.

The British authorities knew that there had been "several cases of men getting into bed with children"

& that

"What these cases do demonstrate, however, is that British tourists in holiday accommodation were being targeted...

And the sum total of things the British authorities had to say to the public on the issue was...nothing.

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

Sorry if my answer was a bit aggressive WS, but I am aware that Dr McCann was subjected to some online abuse over that part of her book and was disbelieved by some. 

I think that we are in agreement that it is the authorities who are ultimately responsible for public safety.   

[Carana]

For all your offensive wummery (by your own admission), I think you're actually sincere on this point.

That's  correct, I'm pretty bloody horrified that so many adults, on all sides, who knew, decided that the best course of action to take would be that they just said nothing.

And then ....nothing more.... was said. 

Nothing.

But you haven't addressed the points I raised...

[Wonderfulspam]

Sorry if my answer was a bit aggressive WS, but I am aware that Dr McCann was subjected to some online abuse over that part of her book and was disbelieved by some. 

I think that we are in agreement that it is the authorities who are ultimately responsible for public safety.   

None taken.

that part of her book and was disbelieved by some. 

IMO that's because it's hard to believe that those people who knew, authorities, tour operators etc etc etc , decided they would just say nothing. 

Had it been me who knew under any circumstances, I would definitely have said.....something.

[Carana]

None taken.

that part of her book and was disbelieved by some. 

IMO that's because it's hard to believe that those people who knew, authorities, tour operators etc etc etc , decided they would just say nothing. 

Had it been me who knew under any circumstances, I would definitely have said.....something.

Take a step back for a moment. None of these families may have been aware that there was a serial creep out there. Many had reported the incidents to the police - who were legitimately entitled to believe were investigating these cases and seemingly weren't aware that he'd attacked other families.

Your first instinct (shouting from the rooftops) is understandable, but may not be the best idea if you were trying to help the police catch this creep. You wouldn't have wanted him to go underground, would you? How would that have helped?

[Wonderfulspam]

Take a step back for a moment. None of these families may have been aware that there was a serial creep out there. Many had reported the incidents to the police - who they were legitimately entitled to believe were investigating these cases and seemingly weren't aware that he'd attacked other families.

Your first instinct (shouting from the rooftops) is understandable, but may not be the best idea if you were trying to help the police catch this creep. You wouldn't have wanted him to go underground, would you? How would that have helped?

None of these families may have been aware that there was a serial creep out there.

While the British authorities apparenty were and they decided they would just say nothing .

[Mr Gray]

None of these families may have been aware that there was a serial creep out there.

While the British authorities apparenty were and they decided they would just say nothing .

who said they said nothing...it was the Portuguese police who should have investigating them...they are not even doing that now...SY are waiting for their cooperation to start looking for him...the portuguese aint helping