Boudica’s Daughters@boudicasarmy
There are numerous red flags reported in this article which go way beyond a failure of the Welsh local authority to protect this girl. They placed her in a home which wasn’t registered with Ofsted or the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority, and they asked the home to allow her to stay there beyond
the 28-day legal limit. And disturbingly - the name of the company running the care home was ‘MAP Adventures’. Wasn’t there a single social worker or commissioner that thought this was questionable?
WARNING- this article relates to the SA of a child.
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More than 800 illegal children’s care homes are operating on an “industrial scale” in towns and cities across the UK, none of which are registered with independent regulator Ofsted, exposing young people to exploitation and abuse with no scrutiny.
In one case, we discovered a 15-year-old girl was brutally sexually abused over several hours by two ex-soldiers at an illegal care home in County Durham. Both were employed despite having criminal convictions for violence, in one of the worst safeguarding failures of the UK’s care system.
LBC tracked down and confronted the care home's owner, Paul McGrory, about the failures. He denied any wrongdoing, insisting that these carers had "amazing references". There is no evidence to suggest he was aware of the abuse.
As well as this, LBC gained access to the care home itself, where neighbours alleged children were assaulted and filmed in distressed states while trying to escape. We discovered holes drilled in the bedroom doors of the children’s rooms, allowing carers to spy on the children, as well as permanently locked windows.
The care home, which was run by a company called MAP Adventures, was told the girl was “at the highest risk of child sexual exploitation”.
That assessment was signed by Liam Ramsay and Stephen Hurst, two former soldiers in their 40s. We can reveal the pair had been recruited to look after vulnerable children despite holding seven previous convictions between them, including four violent offences.
Alice – which is not her real name – was moved to the care home by her local authority in south Wales. It was not registered with Ofsted and so not subject to inspections. Alice was to live at this home, with no other children, under the supervision of two MAP Adventures carers.
When Hurst saw a message on the company’s WhatsApp group asking for staff to cover a shift on 3rd October 2024, he immediately alerted Ramsay.
That day, the two men drove Alice into Durham city centre, telling their duty manager they were taking her on a river walk. In fact, they took her to a pub. And then on to two more. They bought her wine, cocktails, and shots. As the afternoon wore on, Alice became increasingly drunk.
At the final pub, the conversation turned to drugs. Ramsay knew where to get some cocaine, the court was told, and they drove to pick it up. Alice took some. Hurst went to a supermarket and bought more alcohol; this time vodka and gin. They headed back to the property.
When they arrived, Alice was plied with more drink and drugs until she was, in her words, “totally out of it”. Then the two men sexually assaulted her for hours.
In the morning, Ramsay and Hurst made efforts to cover their tracks before the next shift arrived. They removed empty bottles and traces of drugs from the house. They cleaned blood caused by Alice’s nosebleed.
The following day, Alice ran away from the home, called her mum for help, and was picked up by police at a nearby railway station.
In April 2025, Ramsay and Hurst were found guilty of numerous offences, including sexual activity with a child. Ramsay, 40, was jailed for 11 years while Hurst, 46, was jailed for nine years. Both men were placed on the sex offenders register for life.
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