Ex-police chief faces investigation over handling of Tettenhall College child sex abuse allegations
A former West Midlands Chief Constable is facing possible investigation over the handling of a historical child sex abuse case.
The complaint against Chris Sims centres on why a meeting between him and alleged victims of abuse at Tettenhall College never took place, despite one being requested by Theresa May.
The Office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said it had received a complaint by alleged victims Andrew Wood and Mark Shelton.
It is understood another police force is to be asked to look into the complaint but the pair have also been offered the chance of a meeting with current Chief Constable Dave Thompson and Jonathan Jardine, who runs Mr Jamieson's office.
Mr Wood, originally of Wombourne, and Mr Shelton, of Shifnal, were expecting a meeting with Mr Sims in early 2015 to discuss problems with their case. It followed an intervention by the then-Home Secretary in February of that year after it was brought to her attention by then Conservative MP for Wolverhampton South West Paul Uppal.
At the time, prosecutors were deliberating whether to bring charges against ex-Tettenhall College head Colin Cope after video footage emerged showing him laughing, joking, driving his car, carrying a table and climbing stairs eight months after he was deemed too sick to stand trial for sex crimes.
He was charged with 11 offences on five boys at the Wolverhampton school in the 70s. He denied any wrongdoing. When the trial collapsed, Cope was said to be taking 12 types of medication for numerous illnesses.
Mr Wood, 58, and Mr Shelton, 59, hoped the footage captured in 2010 would allow the case to be resurrected after it was halted at Shrewsbury Crown Court in 2009. But Cope died aged 84 in March 2015 – just a month after the two men's meeting with Mrs May.
Mr Wood said: "We have not been happy with how the case has been handled for many years and meeting Mr Sims would have been a chance to go through our concerns and the case. But we have been ignored."
Mr Wood and Mr Shelton were among five ex-Tettenhall College pupils who were paid a total of £129,000 in a civil claim in an out-of-court settlement in 2012 by the boarding school. The school did not admit liability.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "We are aware of the complaint and are seeking to arrange a meeting to discuss the topics raised."
Mr Sims, a former Staffordshire Chief Constable and recently an adviser to police chiefs, declined to comment.
