Judi King, a Children and Young Persons Independent Sexual Violence Adviser, has been awarded a Head of Investigation Command Certificate of Congratulations award for her work with Operation Foundry, the taskforce which brought Freshwater paedophile Jonathan Richard Maertens to justice.
Maertens was convicted of 34 separate indictments of sexually abusing 9 children and has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years.
Judi was nominated for the award by Detective Superintendent Neil Corrigan, Head of Major Crime and Special Investigations, for her valuable support to victims and their families in this distressing and sensitive case.
Judi works within the Children & Young Persons Independent Sexual Violence Adviser team for Hampton Trust on the Isle of Wight. Her role as a trained and experienced advisor is to look after the needs of children and young people who have experienced rape or sexual assault. Judi helps children and young people to decide on the next steps. Support is also provided to parents and carers.
DSI Corrigan explains:
“Judi recently helped Hampshire Constabulary with an extremely challenging case, involving multiple victims.
“The Hampton Trust and Judi do such important work, providing support to people as they seek to move on with their lives. This was a distressing case and we want to thank Judi for the valuable support she provided”.
Judi says:
“I have always been a passionate advocate to ensure all children and young people get the support and information they need to make informed choices and have their voices heard.
“My role enables me to support children and young people who have experienced sexually violent crimes to have a voice. I am here to listen, non-judgmentally and offer a confidential, non-therapeutic space for them to explore their feelings.
“I love the work I do and helping the young people I work with to manage the challenges they face on a daily basis. I enjoy watching most of them grow and blossom into living a healthier life”.
Chantal Hughes, CEO of Hampton Trust says:
“At Hampton Trust we are so proud of the work Judi does and we are not the only ones. The work she does as part of this specialist team is essential to many children and young people. We’re so pleased her work and commitment to the role has been recognised in this special way.”
