Patrick Devaney: Found Guilty of Abuse

After a lengthy trial at Bristol Crown Court, Patrick Devaney has been found guilty of misconduct in public office.

Devaney, who worked as a guard positioned in the gym at Eastwood Park Detention Centre in South Gloucestershire, repeatedly assaulted boys aged between 14 to 17. He denied all charges against him.

The jury heard 22 former detainees give their account of the abuse which they suffered by Devaney. The jury heard that boys were repeatedly punched and forced to perform extreme exercise to the point of physical exertion, when they gave up, Devaney would punish them further.

During the trial, he was described by former detainees as an “absolute monster, a psychopath, a thug…” and “nasty and sadistic.”

During the time Devaney was a guard at Eastwood Park the government held a “short, sharp shock” policy towards rehabilitating youth offenders, but Devaney’s behaviour went far beyond what was “appropriate or acceptable”. Detainees were often sent there because of minor and trivial offences.

The long term effect and impact that these experiences have had on many former detainees is immense. Many years later some former detainees are still left struggling with relationships, authority and feelings of resentment and hurt in relation to their past. That is why at Jordans we are committed to assisting individuals to seek compensation, achieve justice and hopefully a form of closure.