Sheffield slavery victim is son of top cop

Sheffield slavery victim is son of top cop

Nick Kinsella, human trafficking course

by By Polly Rippon

Published on the

10 January

2014

06:50

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The victim at the centre of the Sheffield slavery case is the adopted son of a former top South Yorkshire police officer – who set up the city’s Human Trafficking Centre, The Star can reveal.

Former Detective Chief Superintendent Nick Kinsella’s role involves drafting the Government’s anti-slavery policy.

Now retired from the police, he was highly respected for his work in combating human trafficking and slavery, and in October 2006 he was appointed head of the UK Human Trafficking Centre in Sheffield.

Mr Kinsella, who lives in Sheffield, adopted Craig when the boy was 12.

Craig, now 34, was forced to work as a slave and ‘treated as a punchbag’ by David Rooke, 44, his wife Donna, 40, and their son Jamie, 19, at their home in Parson Cross.

The horrific case, heard at Sheffield Crown Court, caused outrage after it emerged the Rookes, who ran an ice cream business, treated Craig Kinsella ‘like a dog’.

They forced him to work 15 hours a day, dished out daily beatings, starved him, and deprived him of basic toilet and washing facilities.

Shocking CCTV footage, filmed by their own cameras, showed all three members of the family abusing the 34-year-old at their home on Halifax Road.

Sheffield Crown Court was told Craig, who has learning difficulties, was adopted when he was 12 after an ‘abusive’ childhood.

David Brooke, prosecuting, said his adoptive parents realised he had difficulties and, when he was about 14, he was found to have a low IQ.

Mr Brooke said Craig is still in contact with his adoptive family, and saw them about once a year at Christmas.

He also said Craig had been married, and he and his partner had two children, but the relationship broke down.

The UK Human Trafficking centre was set up in Sheffield by the Home Office because of South Yorkshire Police’s success at investigating human trafficking offences in the city.

The base acted as a central point for police and other agencies trying to combat the problem and help victims.

Mr Kinsella was awarded the Queen’s Policing Medal in the 2009 New Year’s honours list for services to policing.

In 2010 the UK Human Trafficking centre was taken over by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, which earlier this year became The National Crime Agency.

Members of the public quizzed Sheffield Council bosses over its safeguarding policy at a full meeting of the council on Wednesday.

Coun Mary Lea, the council’s cabinet member for health, care and independent living, said: “This was a tragic case involving a very vulnerable person and I’m thankful it was over a short period – though obviously six weeks is far too long.

“We did not know about this gentleman before the case was brought to our attention by the police. 
“We became involved and a safeguarding referral was made.

“The gentleman has been supported and been given help with his psychological wellbeing. The council will continue to offer him support.

“Hopefully this will help bring other cases to light.”

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/sheffield-slavery-victim-is-son-of-top-cop-1-6364307

I'm sure I read somewhere that there are donations that have been set up for Craig.

Can anyone shed any light on this? I would like to contribute.

Hopefully with the support around him he goes on to live a full and prosperous life.

Just read on one of the comments in The Star, that the house where the abuse happened, got set on fire last night.

Don't know if this is true or not.

I believe it was the garage where Craig had been sleeping that was fired.

This is so bad. This is why I hate Sheffield and moved away.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/general-news/jailed-sheffield-ice-cream-man-who-kept-slave-in-his-garage-video-1-6356821

Also, why is this man in this condition and why was his father not actually take care of him or to even help. Plus why is this man not turned to his own father for help? Presuming that the responsibility of fatherhood still stand.

The video footage really show very sick people's behaviours indeed.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/craig-kinsella-beaten-slave-worker-3006415

I actually find Mr Kinsella's words very disturbing.

The court heard Craig was adopted after suffering abuse at the hands of his natural parents and had a low IQ.

 

Prosecutor David Brooke said Craig went on to get married and have two children, but he and his wife were unable to cope and they were taken into care.

 

Mr Brooke added that Craig’s adoptive family now only saw him, “once a year or so at Christmas”.

 

Mr Kinsella said: “You can give your children advice and guide them, but you can’t be with them 24 hours a day.

 

“Craig was a grown man who had jobs, had been married, had children and lived independently.

 

“We are so sad this happened to Craig. It’s sad that it happens to anyone. There’s not enough being done on this issue.”

No, if you were his natural parents and you wanted children, then children are for life. Not just until they are grown into adulthood. You pave for someone's life and you gave someone a life, then you need to be responsible and be there as always. Not to use your own son's situation to broadcast and to make yourself look good as a chief who deals with human traffiking ! This is ridiculous.

 

No, if you were his natural parents and you wanted children, then children are for life. Not just until they are grown into adulthood. You pave for someone's life and you gave someone a life, then you need to be responsible and be there as always. Not to use your own son's situation to broadcast and to make yourself look good as a chief who deals with human traffiking ! This is ridiculous.

No it's not. People have fallen on hard times since time began. Craig was an adult who took responsibility for himself when he grew up, got married, had kids. He also had learning disabilities and had the misfortune to run into the Rooke family. Parents cannot keep treating their offspring as children forever, nor do adult offspring want this. I am sure Craig's father had no idea what was going on. He certainly isn't trying to make himself look good.

Just read about this somewhere else and came to find out how long they'd kept him for. Thank God it was 6 weeks and not longer, though it would have been if they hadn't been reported.

6 years, so out in 3, it's a joke. You can get more than that for stealing property. They stole a PERSON and physically and mentally abused him relentlessly for weeks. Evil subhumans.

just heard that father and son have been done over in prison

and you know what they deserve it

just heard that father and son have been done over in prison

and you know what they deserve it

Are they in separate prisons?

No it's not. People have fallen on hard times since time began. Craig was an adult who took responsibility for himself when he grew up, got married, had kids. He also had learning disabilities and had the misfortune to run into the Rooke family. Parents cannot keep treating their offspring as children forever, nor do adult offspring want this. I am sure Craig's father had no idea what was going on. He certainly isn't trying to make himself look good.

This is where our opinions differ. Even though I am a 36 year old woman. I still see my mother as my mother. Even when I have been through the hardship of adulthood, I still remember the words and the lessons said to me by my mother too. She had been there for me when I have fallen into bad times. I have been there for her too when she goes through bad times. As maybe this is how we differ in upbringing possibly. I would also sell my soul for my mother too, as she would for me. That is the difference here. Regardless of the fact that I am now a grown adult. Or that she is an elderly woman of 70. This kind of bond will never be gotten rid of.

"Disabilities" or "IQ" are labels that people put on you, in comparison to them. But a human is still a human at the bottomline.

As an adult offspring, I would be upmost upset if anybody else actually discredit my own mother or my siblings. That kind of bond still exists regardless of I have my own family unit or not ! It is somewhat of you to presume that others who are adult would like to sever ties with their own families that they were brought up with in order to move on in life.

I am also sure that Craig's adopted father actually say those kind of words in a very callous and non-emotive way because of his position in the police force. Cos if this was my own kid, I would be emotionally livid ! I would ask the press to give us private time, and let me handle my family's affair once again. It is somewhat actually very odd of him not to even do that. If you even noticed, he also did not give his own son encouraging words. He just removed himself of the responsibilities as a father in that single comment in a published paper. You can see where his loyalties lie in life. To his work and not to his own family.