inside the unregulated homes failing to
protect our most vulnerable children it
was a literal hell hole living here was
a punishment we hear stories of abuse
exploitation and despair how many times
did you attempt to take your life
there's actually disgusting no one
should ever lay their hand on someone
like that we exposed the dangers facing
some of our most vulnerable children
people bringing in acids knife samurai
swords everything I don't know how they
even get it past all the cameras how do
you sum up your experience appalling did
what it did some someone is to be a
prize for the pain we reveal the
confidential briefing sent to
authorities and speak to a worker who
witnessed the failures and that was it I
was the last time I saw trafficked got
me a gun
where's the next home a year ago we were
told venerable children were being badly
failed by authorities across England and
Wales increasingly teenagers aged 16 and
over and often in care this one here are
being placed in homes where checks are
only made by councils and not a
regulator this is where she lived we
obtained this confidential briefing sent
around councils with claims of serious
safeguarding failings in homes run by
company called Centurion care we set out
to find the young people affected it was
horrendous drug taking motorbikes being
stolen we've learned police were
conducting surveillance on this home for
young people caught up with criminal
gangs
I saw them dealing drugs over their back
wall while other vulnerable people lived
inside I used to live on this top floor
Carla spent years in foster homes before
being sent to Centurion care so my
self-harm would be quite severe it was a
situation where it been really bad and
I'd lost a lot of blood and I went down
to the number of staff and was like you
need to take me to the hospital and they
were like no I can't leave the boys
unattended refusing to take you to
hospital yes he was like oh you should
just go walk to the shop
she says she was taken to a pharmacy an
hour later just a house where people
profit from young vulnerable children
Centurion care told us all of their
homes had first-aid kits incidents were
recorded and sent to social workers on
one occasion Carla was taken to hospital
and they cooperated with police
installing CCTV to prevent drug dealing
up there on the Left we then moved to
another Centurion care home two miles
away where they looked after a boy with
learning disabilities there's a camera
and we obtained this a recording outside
the home showing the child in the yellow
shirt in distress lashing out
police were called here to an allegation
of an assault by a boy on a worker we
can't be sure what led up to this but
watch had the worker response tear was
also a resident at the time that would
have probably scared the life out of him
they used to swear screaming his face
tell him that they're gonna take his
balloons away and they just used to take
him Poppins written him with police he
was absolutely petrified Centurion Kerr
told us police were given CCTV no one
was charged with an offense and they
weren't aware of any allegation of
bullying on this boy during our
investigation we also heard stories of
vulnerable children exposed to weapons
drugs and organized crime
you've got a drug deal in people
bringing in acid this teenager also
lived in a home run by some jewelry and
care life samurai and thoughts
everything I thought no how they even
get it past all the cameras terrified
he'd lock himself in his room how would
you know it was acid in the bottle
because I opened it up and smoke were in
it burnt my nose what was your reaction
when that happened and then they dropped
the L bottle at the floor and what did
you do put it down
went straight into my room and barricade
my door because I don't feel safe
he says strangers we're coming and going
from the home every 10 minutes the door
scan like going straight in and out in
and out go around the corner and their
drug deals or whatever and then coming
straight back
that house was basically just a drug
deal house but I had to live there
because I couldn't go anywhere else
Centurion care sodas they worked with
police and neighbors to prevent drug
dealing and any young person who smoked
cannabis in the placements was asked to
leave
of the eight young men whose stories
we've followed in Centurion care we've
learned that four were sent all of
return to prison since leaving the homes
Emanuel Ax Oliver one family agreed to
let us talk to their son inside prison
you weren't eating inside there like
many unregulated homes it's down to the
young person to manage their finances
and food Emmanuel repeatedly disappeared
because he was involved in county line
struck dealing how did they get to you
in the home how did they find you in
puzzled Oh would you have said no did
you ever ask the staff in sides ensuring
care for help
Manuel was jailed for possession with
intent to supply heroin and crack
cocaine
Centurion care said they felt all
children were safe and secure across
their placements
we spent weeks trying to track down
someone who knew the children involved
they were all very high-risk and II was
a support worker across many of the
homes sexually exploited cleared drugs
and alcohol abuse thumb that had
disabilities all in one room he seemed
most shocked by what happened here and
he remembers a girl who regularly went
missing I just saw a bunch of boys in a
car and she just jumped in really and
this spot from this spot right here and
that was it was the last time I saw
trafficked got me a gun she was missing
for more than a week before being found
in the midlands police ended up finding
her all sort of happened there's no
suggestion
Centurion care staff were involved in
her trafficking they took months to find
out who she was and where she now lived
a lot of people go for things weird like
the care system why it's just they give
up you were alone what was the impact on
you being taken like that there are bad
inputs it was the worst
no no one deserves that like many
children in care she was placed in a
home outside of a local authority I
didn't have no friends or anything I was
always just wandering away trying to get
away from the home trying to get away
from the environment starve them
she says she was also sexually abused by
a young person in the home did the staff
members phone the police
no did the staff members remove the boys
from the home who had been hurting they
just told me that me and the guy were in
a relationship they told me that that's
what I wanted since Julian Kerr told us
all staff had safeguarding training
missing person procedures were followed
and they had no record of a sexual
assaults allegation what were you hoping
it would be the homes were closed in
2017 and the company dissolved when an
investigation was launched over
organized in complex abuse facing
children in the homes it was completely
out of control
absolutely manic wild like some people
had drugs in the house there was some
people who don't ended up having like
you know a large amount of cash and do
is nothing you could have really done
about it because other staff members
didn't do anything about it so this
confidential council briefing we've
obtained on Centurion Care says some
workers were known to police
for arrests that didn't lead to charges
Centurion Care says it's not aware of
these disclosures on any of the workers
enhanced DBS checks which were available
at every local authority inspection and
no concerns were raised
her vulnerability was quite house
Andy says a girl reported being taken
from one of the homes given alcohol and
drugs before having sex with a man who
occasionally worked in the home police
said there was not enough evidence any
crime was committed the confidential
briefing says the man had several
convictions and had been previously
investigated but not charged from
alleged sex offense involving a child
Centurion care said the contractor
didn't need to be DBS checked his role
was known to the local authority they
cooperated with the police and there was
no further action across England there's
around five thousand children in
unregulated homes many highly vulnerable
all facing the same risks I am outraged
I'm outraged and upset in equal measure
about what I've just seen Dame Louise
Casey led an investigation into
Rotherham Council after hundreds of
children were sexually exploited in the
town it's not a loophole it's a scandal
I want those homes regulated how urgent
is that tomorrow the shame is that it's
taken the BBC the same way it was in
rather um it took the media to lift the
lid on it she fears young people aren't
being protected in unregulated homes you
are exposing their voices which I can
only hope means that it's listened to in
a different way it's time for Whitehall
to wake up to this it's a disgrace if
action isn't taken on the back of this
program then we're colluding in letting
groomers predatory pedophiles go after
those children and that's our
responsibility and that's why I find it
so upsetting
across England and Wales there's been
more than a dozen so-called organized
and complex abuse investigations into
failures to protect children in
unregulated homes the stories of those
children are unlikely to ever be heard