INTERVIEW ONE: June 9, 1.44am

POLICE: Can you introduce yourself.

VG: I’m Vanessa George. 

POLICE: Do you want to have a solicitor present? 

VG: No, I’m all right thank you. 

POLICE: You remember when we first came (to your home)… You said ‘I know what it’s about, I don’t want my husband to know’ and then we cautioned you… 

VG: Mmm. 

POLICE: And I said ‘I believe that you’ve sent images’ and you said ‘no, just photos of children’, ‘you know I’m going to have to arrest you’ and you said ‘I got suckered in big time, is it Colin Blanchard?’, and I said ‘who is Colin Blanchard?’, ‘it doesn’t matter’ you said. You were then arrested on suspicion of making and distributing images, indecent images of children. 

VG: Mmm. 

POLICE: And you were also arrested on suspicion of sexual assault by penetration. 

VG: Yeah. 

POLICE: To which you said ‘it wasn’t penetration’. You said ‘there’s nothing in my house, my phone is in my pocket, I’ve been suckered in big time. 

POLICE: And then your husband came down and you said to him ‘basically I got befriended by a bloke, who said I wanted you in my life and I took photos of children for him, I’m sorry’. 

POLICE: At half past midnight you said ‘I knew this would happen, I can’t believe what I’ve done’… and then you gave me your Samsung mobile phone which we have here, and you said to me ‘they don’t know anything about it’ – referring to your family. 

VG: Right. 

POLICE:You said ‘I’ll give you my other mobile’ … 

VG: Wasn’t. 

POLICE: You said ‘I’m disgusted with myself, I can’t believe what I’ve done, I love children’. 

VG: I love working with children. 

POLICE: ‘I love working with children’. You then told me it was a pay-as-you-go phone– you called it your fun phone. 

VG: Mmm. 

POLICE: Also while we were there, you said you had several email accounts… 

VG: Yes. 

POLICE: I think probably the easiest thing now, is for you just to tell us what’s happened from the start. 

VG: I was on Facebook about, well about 5, 6 months ago and I went on the thing called ‘Are You Interested?’ And, um, you just click on people and like have a flirt and chat and things like that and there was one I like clicked and I thought nice looking you know and whatever and we just started, I can’t even remember, you know he was like ‘Hi, how are you, did you have a nice day, blah blah blah’ and we started talking on there. Then we added each other as friendsand then, he just said ‘oh have you got an MSN account?’ and I don’t think I did at the time, like I must have had one but not. So I just set up one and said ‘oh there it is’ and we just used to talk on there. Um, and he just said things like ‘what’s your fantasies?’ and things like that and of course you sort of like make up bits and things and like he said he was abused when he was little and I said ‘oh that’s awful’ and he goes ‘no, it was really nice’. So I thought ‘oh I got a kinky one here’, so I’ll play along with it. 

POLICE: Mmm. 

VG: And I just like played along and like, you know, like typing in things like that and I don’t even know how it got to the point of where I think he laughed and, you know, when they say ‘oh I want you in my life’, um, ‘I’ve told my mum about you’ and things like that and I don’t know, cos I never really asked him like, what ‘have you got money’ or nothing cos I wasn’t, you know, it was just a bit of attention to be quite honest and I don’t even know how it got onto it, but he sort of said, I said to him like ‘I work in the nursery’ and things like that and it was just, he sort of said if you, you know, ‘if you take some pictures’ or something like that and I’ve gone ‘yeah all right then’, and I said ‘well what would you do for me if I done that for you?’, like joking… 

POLICE: Yeah. 

VG: …and I said ‘you’ll have to put a ring on my finger to make me do things like that’ and it was like ‘Mmm’… So then I did and then of course the more photos you take the more you get back, you know, in interest. 

POLICE: Sort of feeding him type. 

VG: Yeah, but it was attention back. 

POLICE: When you say take photographs, what do you mean? 

VG: Taking photos of children. 

Police: In what way? 

VG: Oh their parts. 

POLICE: Do you want to tell me what, if you can think of the first photograph you took. 

VG: Most probably just a little girl. 

POLICE: Can you remember who it was? 

VG: No, I can’t. 

POLICE: Where was this? 

VG: In the nursery in the toilets…Take them in for nappy changing… And then I’d do it then. 

POLICE: I can see you are upset. 

VG: I’m fuming with myself really, I am because it’s like the epitome isn’t it, it’s like absolutely disgusting and I knew, you know, you just think it’s wrong, but… 

POLICE: You’re being very brave this evening, OK and thank you. 

VG: Mmm. 

POLICE: So how many pictures do you think you’ve taken? 

VG: Most probably lots. 

POLICE: How many’s lots? 

VG: I wouldn’t honestly say but it was… 

POLICE: Hundred, two hundred? 

VG: I don’t know, it wasn’t two hundred. 

POLICE: I was just, I was pulling a number out of the air there. 

VG: No it was just random photos, you know, like random, you like, I’d do like little batches of them… 

VG: I just used to change their nappy and take a photo, and then I’d text him saying ‘oh I’ve got three photos for you today’, he’s like ‘oh’, you know, ‘lovely’ and things like that and then I’d talk to him on MSN… 

POLICE: So when did you take the first photograph? 

VG: It wouldn’t have been long after I started talking to him. 

POLICE: So how many months ago? 

VG: About 5, 4 and a half, 5? 

POLICE: Are there any children you haven’t taken a picture of? 

VG: Yeah, I just do, just used to take like just, not all of them, no. 

POLICE: Not all of them. 

VG: No. 

POLICE: So where were, where were the other staff when you were doing this? 

VG: In with the other children. 

POLICE: So you’d go off on your own? 

VG: Yeah. 

POLICE: Do you know who they are, their names? 

VG: Um, no, it was just random. 

Police: Boys, girls? 

POLICE: When you’re changing them is there a door closing off giving you some privacy? 

VG: There’s doors, but I didn’t shut the door. 

POLICE: Why not? 

VG: I wasn’t doing it for like enjoyment or anything like that, I was just doing it for, just to take the photo. 

POLICE: So you didn’t get any sexual pleasure out of it yourself? 

VG: No, not at all, no, I prefer men to be quite hon – I don’t, it wasn’t, it was just purely just to take a photo. 

POLICE: And you were happy to give him the pictures? 

VG: I wasn’t, but, I knew it was wrong when I was doing it, when I was taking the photos, I knew it was wrong. 

POLICE: What’s wrong about it? 

VG: Well it’s vile, it’s not… 

POLICE: Do you know it’s against the law? 

VG: Yes I do. 

POLICE: As part of your job… 

VG: Mmm. 

POLICE: …have you done any child protection training? 

VG: I did do years ago, yes, but we always do like refresher courses and things like that. 

POLICE: Have you done the refresher courses? 

VG: I don’t think I have on that one, no. 

POLICE: OK on which one? 

VG: On the child protection. 

POLICE: Just so I’m clear – you know it’s against the law to take those type of pictures of children. 

VG: We’re not even supposed to take photos of the children’s faces in the nursery without consent. 

POLICE: Do you know that taking those pictures was abusing those children? 

VG: Mmm. 

POLICE: Those pictures are now distributed, they’ll be all over, all over the world. Did you think about that when you took the pictures… 

VG:No. 

POLICE: Did it not occur to you that that might happen and that these children are now all over the world. 

VG: I didn’t think of that. 

POLICE: I would say that you’ve been very honest with us… 

VG: Yeah. 

POLICE: …OK, and as we said when we were booking into custody about how your world’s been blown apart to some extent hasn’t it. 

VG: Yeah, yeah. 

POLICE: Do you think you might try and harm yourself? 

VG: No, not at all. 

Police: We’ll go downstairs from here, but if when you’re in the cell you think that you’re having those thoughts or you’re, I have to say it… 

VG: No – I know you do, no. 

POLICE: Cos what we don’t want to do is anything happened to you. 

VG: I’m too chicken, I’m sorry. 

POLICE: Well you’re welfare’s important to us. 

VG: Yeah, I bet it is. 

POLICE: The time is now 0217 hours and I’m going to stop the interview

INTERVIEW TWO: June 9, 6.05pm

Officers interview George in the presence of her solicitor.

POLICE: Are you happy you’ve had enough time to speak to your solicitor? 

VG: Yes. 

POLICE: OK. And you’re happy to go ahead with the interview? 

VG: Yes. 

POLICE: If I can just recap what was said last night, in relation to the comments that you’ve made. We’ve had to disclose that to your solicitor today, and talk in general. Do you want to just tell us again what you said last night? 

VG: No comment. 

POLICE then refer to comments which George had made in the previous interview in which she claimed she had been duped by Colin Blanchard into taking pictures of children in her care at the nursery. 

To a series of detailed questions, GEORGE repeatedly replies: No Comment… 

POLICE: You’re happy you’ve had enough time to speak to your solicitor and seek that advice? 

VG: I have… 

POLICE then talk to George about her internet history, and she provides a password to an internet account… 

POLICE: Can you just tell us who you’ve been chatting to online? 

VG: No comment… 

POLICE: You talked to us last night, what’s changed? 

VG: No comment… 

POLICE: Do you want to add anything to the ‘no comments’ that you’ve made so far. 

VG: No.

INTERVIEW THREE: June 9, 9.22PM

The interview begins and Vanessa George is read her rights. Her solicitor then reads a prepared statement on behalf of George, in her own words, in which she denies penetration of any children.

SOLICITOR:…It was love and affection that I felt for him [Colin Blanchard] and it was back from him. He said he wanted me in his life and when I asked if there could ever be a future for us, he said ‘yes definitely’… 

George then continues. 

VG: He asked me for a picture of a child as he knew I worked at a nursery… I sent him two or three… I did this because I knew it would make him happy, I felt disgusted really, but did it anyway. The relationship between Colin and I became difficult, strained, because I couldn’t trust him, so in order to keep him happy I just sent him more pictures. 

POLICE: …Parents have gathered this evening and the Police have tried to speak to these parents and reassure them and there is a great deal of worry about. They want to know Vanessa if their child has been harmed, if you’ve taken a picture of their child and it would help them, and yourself I think, to get that burden off your shoulder further. Which children did you take pictures of? 

VG: No comment. 

POLICE: …what I’m concerned is that not only have you worked as a nursery nurse, or a nursery assistant whatever it’s called, but you’ve worked and you’ve baby-sat and cared for other children, either at their home or in your home and that’s what I’ve asked you to try and expand on earlier on. Do you not care at all? 

VG: No comment. 

POLICE: You don’t. 

Detectives then show George images of children being abused. 

POLICE: …Did you take this picture? 

VG: No comment. 

POLICE: Their mother has a right to know, their father has a right to know and you’re not helping them.

POLICE: What was your thought process, did you think ‘this is getting too weird now, this is all wrong, I’ve never done anything like this before, I’ve got two children of my own?… 

VG: No comment. 

POLICE: …Did you think ‘I’ve just taken a photograph of a naked child, what on earth have I done?’, did you have that thought process? 

VG: No comment. 

POLICE: Did you think ‘Colin’s going to love me a little bit more now, because I’ve taken a photograph of a child, if that’s what he wants from me and that will make him love me a little bit more’, is that what you thought? 

VG: No comment. 

POLICE: Why didn’t you run a million miles in the other direction?… 

Interview ends

INTERVIEW FOUR: June 10, 11.23am

Vanessa George is read her rights by detectives and is told her mobile phone has been recovered and ‘rushed’ to the Forensic Telecommunications Service for analysis. Detectives begin questioning her about indecent pictures of children.

POLICE: We’ve talked already about the pain that the children must have suffered… Vanessa? At the moment you’re staring down at the floor, not answering anything I say. 

SOLICITOR: I’m afraid I’m going to intervene just one moment because I don’t wish this to become too oppressive, with pressurising the client… we’ll answer your questions, but I still don’t think that was a question. 

POLICE: OK….Did you realise you caused pain to those children? 

VG: No comment. 

POLICE: Did you do it for your own sexual pleasure? 

VG: No comment. 

Police then ask George why they have recovered images of abuse of children from her phone and when she took them. They also ask her when she started having ‘sexual thoughts towards children’. Her solicitor again warns the interview isbecoming ‘oppressive’ and that police ‘cannot plead with the subject for too long’. 

POLICE: Having spoken to us in your first interview, you have declined to talk to us again, you’ve given us a prepared statement and gone ‘no comment’ throughout the rest of the time. You’ve not in any way assisted the police in identifying any of your victims, the most vulnerable members of society, who you had a duty of care over in that nursery. I asked you in the first interview about your training in relation to child protection and you said that you had some but you couldn’t remember the full details. Do you accept that you had a duty of care to look after those children in the nursery? 

VG: No comment. 

POLICE: Parents were trusting you with the most precious thing they have, a child… Do you understand? 

VG: No comment. 

POLICE: …The children in your care could well have images circulating round the whole world now. You’ve already distributed those images to man who has a sexual interest in children. I am just trying to understand why you did what you did, trying to work out what made you do it and the person behind it. Is there anything at all that you’d like to say to us? 

VG: No comment. 

POLICE: We’re looking into offences of making indecent images, distribution of indecent images, sexual assault, sexual assault by penetration. 

…Have you any information you can now furnish me with, which would ultimately assist the Crown Prosecution Service in making decisions not to prosecute in this matter? Do you want to add or clarify anything to what you’ve said so far? 

VG: No comment