Obituary

Ray Wyre: expert on sex crimes and police adviser Timesonline   June 30, 2008 Ray Wyre Ray Wyre was one of the world's leading experts on sexual crime. He was renowned for his pioneering work with people who sexually abused children and championed the idea that, for a society that rarely locks anyone up for life, rehabilitating offenders — rather than punishing them — was the only effective way to prevent reoffending. In 1988 he founded the Gracewell Clinic, the world's first residential clinic for sex offenders. It was controversial, and in fact was closed after five years, but Wyre believed that the ideas behind it were sound: "People say that abusers don't deserve therapy and that they should be locked up and the key thrown away." he said in 1995. "But these people are forgetting the children. We are not working for the offender but for the children, because they never defend themselves." Wyre was also called as an adviser in important police investigations and court hearings. He had an extraordinary ability to enter the mind and world of suspected offenders, whatever their techniques to avoid it, and among the landmark cases he worked on was that of Robert Black, who at the time had been sentenced to life imprisonment for a vicious sexual assault; Wyre was asked to assess Black by his defence lawyers and Black cancelled his appeal on reading the report; he was subsequently convicted of the murder of three girls. Wyre also worked on the case of Fred and Rosemary West, interviewing one of their surviving children, Anne Marie. Ray Wyre was born in Hampshire in 1951. His father was a chief petty officer, and Wyre joined the Navy at the age of 15. When he was later discharged because of trouble with his feet he went to theological college and became a volunteer warden at a working men's hospital. He abandoned the idea of ordination and was taken on as a trainee probation officer at Winson Green prison in Birmingham, where his first client happened to be a sex offender. From 1981 to 1986 Wyre worked with Category A prisoners at Albany prison on the Isle of Wight. He appeared to be immune to shock, a quality which gave him credibility among the prisoners as he took his first steps to understanding and interrupting their distorted thinking. During this time he pioneered group therapy for sex offenders, simply by giving three or four of them appointments at the same time. He later remembered that he was "always fighting the system because nobody wanted me to do this sort of work. They thought sex offenders were one-offs and wouldn't do it again; they didn't understand that it's a lifelong pattern of behaviour and unless people go through therapy while in prison they'll go straight out and resume where they left off." During this time he co-wrote Women, Men and Rape, which was praised for its pyschological insights. He eventually moved to Portsmouth where he established a hospital-based programme. He resigned from the Probation Service, set up as a self-employed counsellor and within a few months had 20 clients, who attended voluntarily. He soon found that the work was not financially viable, but through his accountant he met Trevor Price, a Midlands property entrepreneur, who enabled him to found the Gracewell Clinic in two houses in a suburb of Birmingham. Initially, it took referrals from the Probation Service, but it later accepted men who had not been charged but wanted help. He drew around him other practitioners committed to child protection and devised a programme of skilful questioning. There was a refusal to allow any shifting of blame to a victim, and therapy included resident offenders challenging the belief systems of new or more resistant arrivals. Wyre was much inspired by four months he spent on a Churchill Fellowship in the US with the FBI, studying the treatment of rapists and murderers there. "I am motivated by curiosity," he once said. "I'm fascinated by people, I want to know how they tick and how I tick. It’s a journey you’re both on, together; therapy isn’t something you do to someone else. It's about trying to get through to people's feelings." One witness said of a 35-minute session with an offender at Gracewell that Wyre had moved the man so far forward in his acceptance and understanding of his crimes that it might have taken another therapist years to make the same mark. Wyre accumulated considerable knowledge about offending which could be used not only in the rehabilitation of victims but also in the detection and investigation of paedophile rings. So important was the latter to a criminal justice system inadequately equipped to prosecute such offences that Wyre and his Gracewell colleagues became tutors and hosts to investigators, first from New Scotland Yard and then from other UK police forces. However, there were local objections to the presence at Gracewell of so many convicted child abusers under one roof, and trouble with funding, and the clinic was closed down in 1993. In the mid-1990s Wyre published Murder of Childhood, a book about Robert Black. In recent years he had worked more closely with fellow practitioners. Steve Lowe, the director of Ray Wyre Independent Consultancy, said of him: "Ray was the sharpest man I have ever met. He picked up on what was said, what was not said and what someone was feeling in a way that was at times quite disarming. I think he achieved this often by looking very dishevelled, something of a Columbo figure. He also had a charm and a boyish manner that people mistook at their peril. In terms of his work he could also ask the most direct questions and get answers." Wyre was optimistic, cheerful and entirely obsessed by his work. He lectured widely, here and abroad, to audiences of diplomats, government policymakers and investigators. In his spare time he was a talented poker player. He is survived by his wife, Charmaine, and by three children from his first marriage. Ray Wyre, sexual crime consultant, was born on November 2, 1951. He died after a stroke on June 20, 2008, aged 56

A Live Wyre, 15 February 2006

A Live Wyre False Allegations Action Scotland Penny Campbell 15 February 2006 Ray Wyre credited as a child protection expert and a sex crime consultant. He began his current career as a probation officer trained in social work in UK prisons, in his past he trained to become a Baptist Minister. It is during his time at HMS Albany, that Wyre began to branch away from accepted methods for handling those convicted of sex offences. It was normal for a convicted person to meet on a one to one basis with the Probation Officer, Wyre chose instead to give 3 or 4 the same appointment, though he denied that he considered this to be a group. At the time, the Prison Officer's Association were unhappy with this, as they felt it introduced unnecessary risks to the meetings. The value of group therapy in these situations is also disputed by research. It has been found in at least one study (Romero and Williams, 1983) that 'the addition of group psychotherapy to conventional probation supervision did not significantly reduce sex offender recidivism'. Wyre continued to pursue his own methods and in the 1980's began to influence social work child protection practices more heavily. In 1988 he introduced the satanic element to the large scale Nottingham case. Having been contacted by Tim Tate, journalist, Wyre passed on lists of 'satanic indicators' (lists of symptoms which are claimed to indicate the child has been a victim of SRA) to the children's foster parents. He also briefed them on what to look for, encouraging the foster parents to keep journals on the children's behaviour and anything the children discussed. In the subsequent enquiry into the case, Wyre was heavily criticised for his actions and influence on the case. As the bizarre allegations became more and more fantastic, a rift formed between police investigating the case, who could find no evidence supporting the allegations, and the social workers, who were adamant that this abuse had occurred. Police refused to accept any further allegations, and refused to accept as evidence the journals that Wyre had urged the foster parents to keep. A committed believer in the SRA movement, Ray Wyre continued to spread his beliefs, as did other workers swept up in the tide of hysteria. An associate of Wyre's, Pamela Klein, also lectured at joint training conferences for police and social workers on the subject of SRA. Originally from Illinois, and a rape crisis worker, Klein's activities had previously been criticised by an Illinois judge, who stated that she "was not a legitimate therapist" and that she was not licensed to practice. Wyre and Klein both were instrumental in spreading the SRA movement through Australia and New Zealand. Klein’s list of indicators included bedwetting, a fear of ghosts and nightmares. Four of those involved in the infamous McMartin pre-school scandal in the US, also targeted Australia and New Zealand. Almost immediately cases with strikingly similar allegations to those already seen in the US and UK sprang up. Despite being criticised for his influence on the Nottingham case, and warnings that training workers to look for these indicators, and the methods used to elicit the desired responses from the interviewees were dangerous and should be stopped, Wyre continued. In June 1994, another satanic ritual abuse case broke in Pembroke, Wales. It was revealed that workers in the case had attended a 3 day conference held by Wyre. It was in 1988 that Wyre set up the Gracewell Clinic in Birmingham, the first clinic designed to treat men convicted of sex offences. Men were referred to the Clinic for treatment following an assessment, it also required (as with all SOTPs [Sex Offender Treatment Program]) that the men voluntarily agree to receiving treatment, and that in doing so they admit guilt and responsibility for the offences of which they have been accused. In the case of a man who has been sentenced, a refusal to admit guilt and to participate in a treatment programme can see him returned to court and re-sentenced. A claim of innocence is never accepted as such, and instead is always considered as a denial by the accuser to accept what he did. In 'Men and Crime', Issue 13, Summer 1992, Wyre admitted that a form of treatment used at the Gracewell Clinic, was that of 'masturbation satiation'. A technique originally devised by W.L. Marshall, which makes use of deviant or illegal material as part of the therapy, and claimed by some to be effective in reducing re-offending. It is a form of therapy which any innocent man would likely find upsetting and disturbing. Though alternative therapies such as electro-shock aversion and foul odour are reported to be successful, researchers want to see verbal or masturbatory satiation become a standard treatment. Wyre further recommends that treatment is mandatory. Opinions on Wyre's methods include the following; "cognitive therapies have become confrontational and frankly coercive." "(T)here is something of a culture shock for those with a foundation in traditional psychotherapy when confronted with Wyre's methods." It is pointed out that there is no doctor-patient relationship, and none of the confidentiality that medical ethics normally require. Wyre claimed that at that time, no-one who had been treated at Gracewell had re-offended. This is not the achievement that it appears to be. Wyre excludes from the outset, via the assessment, anyone who he feels he cannot work with. If he chooses to refuse to treat someone who's behaviour is so far detached from what would be expected from an average member of society, that there is little or no hope of rehabilitation, and instead chooses to treat men who have little or no criminal evidence against them, it is no surprise that he can claim that none have gone on to re-offend. Incredibly, he has also admitted that the questionnaire which was used in the assessment pack he provided the men with, received similar responses from the accused and from ordinary men in the community. Exactly what value and purpose this questionnaire had if the answers were the same from all men is unclear. You could assume from this that all men have the potential to act on deviant fantasies, or the accused he is treating are innocent. Further indication that Wyre seems to have difficulty in differentiating between those who are innocent and those who are guilty is shown in his list of 'characteristics of child sexual abusers', on an information leaflet published for child care organisations in Australia. - pro-offending attitudes - insensitivity to child issues - desires to work with vulnerable children - excessive attention given to a particular child or group of children - gift giving - taking children on trips - isolates children from other adults - photographs children - use of contact therapies, massages, etc. - regular trips to known "child sex tourism" countries - appears to have no adult social life - heavily involved in work but has poor relationships with colleagues - gaps in references - uses questionable language or phrases Some of these indicators would clearly apply to genuine offenders, however, most of these characteristics can also be applied to any normal, innocent person. How many parents take their children on holiday, photograph them and buy them gifts? Some now use baby massage as a way of soothing fretful infants. Social workers and child protection experts (of which Wyre is considered to be one) have desires to work with vulnerable children. How many adults now have two or more jobs? With financial demands increasing, this is more common, these adults, whether single, in a relationship or parents could be considered to have no social life or heavily involved in work. This list of indicators is at best unhelpful, at worst, dangerous. Another controversial aspect of Wyre's treatment regards the conversion of some alleged abusers, into men with homosexual relationships. He considers that it is better for men who are believed to have abused boys, and who appear to be unable to conduct a relationship with a woman, to enter into homosexual relationships. Gracewell continued to treat men until it's closure in 1993, however Ray Wyre was not the only person working at Gracewell whose methods have been considered controversial. In August 2003, a woman (whose name was changed to prevent her being identified) who had volunteered at Gracewell in the 1980's and continued to work there until it's closure, revealed what most people would consider an unhealthy obsession with convicted men. It was claimed that she was in love with the men, some of whom where convicted child killers, with which she regularly corresponded and sometimes visited. She claimed to provide them with emotional and financial support and that this benefited the men. Amongst those whom she considered to be her friends, were Sidney Cooke and Robert Maudsley, who ate part of his victims brain with a spoon. She also admitted to writing to Ian Huntley, charged with murdering the two Soham schoolgirls. This woman, who was a psychology student at the time of the report, also claimed to have been abused as a child, and who had fallen in love with her abuser. The desire to befriend men such as Robert Maudsely came following her abusers rejection of her. "I love men because of - not in spite of - what they have done." she said. The fact that Wyre allowed a person with what appear to be extremely bizarre, unresolved personal issues volunteer at Gracewell, is in stark contrast to the opinion he voiced during a Care Standards Tribunal hearing last year. A social worker who had worked in social care with children for 30 years, brought an appeal against the decision made by Charles Clarke to place his name on the Protection of Children Act List. Though this social worker did not have any allegations made against him, and had no convictions for any offences involving children, he had admitted to a colleague that he considered himself to be a paedophile, stressing that he meant this in the literal sense of the word. He had on one occasion considered seducing a young boy who had been cleaning the social workers' car. It was also claimed that the social worker would have liked to access child pornography, but never had done so. Ray Wyre was called to give evidence as an expert witness. His evidence was described as both "illuminating and unhelpful". Wyre's continual reference and comparison to other men he was working with was considered a hindrance to understanding the case before the tribunal. It was pointed out that Wyre's agency had not been involved in assisting the social worker, and the focus had to be on his case alone. Wyre considered that the possibility that the social worker had abused in the past was small and even less so with regard to the chance of his abusing in the future. At the same time, Wyre did accept that the element of sexual attraction towards boys was "quite high". His evidence then was favourable towards the social worker. Despite this, Wyre admitted that he could not employ this person in his agency. He considered that he employs people to do a job and does not expect them to bring "additional baggage". He would expect someone with personal problems to get professional help. This did not prevent him continuing to allow the female volunteer referred to above, to assist at the Clinic, with whom he had 'agreed to disagree' over their respective therapy techniques. Though the appeal was won by majority, the Chair took the unusual step of recording his dissenting views. Wyre's opinions were further questioned regarding snuff videos. He is quoted as having viewed snuff films first hand in America. Apparently however, when contacted, he denied having seen one, and claimed that what he saw was instead a sophisticated simulation. Though he insists that the FBI did have such films in their possession and claimed that they were available in England, both the FBI and Scotland Yard dispute this. The cult expert at the FBI's training academy at Quantico, Virginia, Ken Lanning, has stated that in 20 years of searching, he has never found a documented case of a snuff film anywhere in the world. Scotland Yard also denied their existence in England, a detective in the Obscene Publications Division is quoted as saying "I'd be the first to know if there were any in Britain. There just aren't." His current organisation, Ray Wyre (UK) Ltd., is based in Milton Keynes and claims to provide services to the accused and their families. He and his associates are regularly called to provide expert evidence in criminal cases in the UK and beyond. They claim to recognise the importance for independent assessment and that this also leaves "the possibility that the alleged offender is innocent of the allegations." The requirement for the accused to admit his guilt, together with Wyre's all-encompassing indicators make this meaningless. One former associate, Charles Fortt, was also a probation officer and had been the principal therapist and clinic manager at Gracewell, is now an independent consultant on sex crime and domestic violence. Ray Wyre continues to be a regular speaker in conferences regarding child protection or the management of sex offenders (though he does not consider an adult abuser who was abused as a child to be a 'sex offender'), in the UK and worldwide. This month Wyre was in the news again, calling for a new organisation to be formed to tackle self-employed persons who may be considered a risk to children. Working with him is Labour MP Dan Norris. Norris has a background in social work and child protection. His allegations against colleagues whilst working as a teacher in a care home prior to his training as a social worker, resulted in dismissals and the closure of the home. Wyre is currently involved in a prominent residential school case in Scotland.

Perpetrators of the myth: Ray Wyre, 14 October 2006

Ray Wyre Satanic Media Watch and News Exchange Written by Amina Olander Lap Saturday, 14 October 2006 Ray Wyre introduced the satanic dimension to the Nottingham child abuse investigation in the UK (Se the Satanic Ritual Abuse section). He made four lecture tours in Australia and influenced the spread of belif in Satanic Ritual Abuse in Australia. (Source: Satan's Excellent Adventure in the Antipodes). Ray Wyre trained to become a baptist minister before he became the head of a clinic for sex offenders (Source: Child Abuse - or occult rituals). ---------------- Quotes on Ray Wyre: (1999) [In connection with the Nottingham case] Essentially all of the diary allegations were made by 4 children from three foster homes. It was only after Ray Wyre briefed the foster parents with "Satanic indicators" on 1988-FEB-9 that the children started to disclose stories about: strangers being involved in the abuse, and abuse happening outside their own homes Mr. Wyer's services had been acquired by Social Services as an expert in SRA. His indicators of SRA came from an alleged expert from the US, and included: "transportation to other places, animal sacrifices, drinking of blood, eating flesh, defiling children with urine and feces, monsters and ghosts, a mysterious church, killing of children etc." Foster parents were urged to ask their children about these indicators, and to document the results. From THE "NOTTINGHAM, UK" RITUAL ABUSE CASES by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance --------------- (1990) [In connection with the Nottingham case] According to Christine Johnston, a senior social worker, and Judith Dawson, the team leader, the children began telling bizarre stories which they could not understand. They called in Ray Wyre, a former probation officer who runs a clinic in Birmingham for sex offenders. He gave them a list of "Satanic indicators", a profile of signs and symptoms used by American police officers which he told the Independent on Sunday he was given by Pamela Klein, a Chicago social worker who lectures on Satanic abuse. Wyre had other literature on Satanic abuse from the United States, where he had first studied child abuse in 1984. He had picked up some of the material himself on a visit in 1988; other information he had been sent. Mr Wyre says the social workers initially asked him if he knew anything about witchcraft because the children were writing strange things in their diaries. he said he told the social workers and foster parents the sort of things said by children who had been ritually abused. Mr Wyre studied for three years in the early 1970s at a Baptist bible college in Birmingham to become ordained as a minister, but chose probation work instead. He said his former beliefs were not relevant to his work with sex offenders. From The Making of a Satanic Myth Last Updated ( Saturday, 14 October 2006 )

Ray Wyre's CV, 01 January 2007

Ray Wyre CV RWIC (Note: website no longer exists) Ray Wyre is an internationally acknowledged expert in the field of sexual crime with additional specific expertise in major crime. He began working with sex offenders and other criminals as a member of the Probation Service in the 1970s. and between 1981 and 1986, developed one of the first group work programmes for sex offenders in a top security prison. He left the Probation Service to establish the 'Clinic for Sexual Counselling', a hospital based programme. In 1988 he founded the Gracewell Institute and Clinic based in Birmingham. In 1991, he became a founder member of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation which took over the work of the clinic – now the Wolvercote Clinic (now closed)– until it received Home Office and Department of Health support. He established Ray Wyre Associates which was to become RWA (UK) a company that employs experts and consultants working with all aspects of sexual abuse and interrelated crime. He resigned as Director from RWA (UK) in order to pursue other and similar interests. He now heads up Ray Wyre Independent Consultancy where he is able to operate completely independently but at the same time able to call on a number of experts in order to complete any extra work or tasks. He now has regular commissions in many parts of the world and has trained staff in Australia, Philippines, Tasmania, France, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Scotland, Portugal, Germany,  Austria, Switzerland, South Africa, Ireland and the USA.  He has worked in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and for the United Nations (UN) in Kosovo. He appears before the Courts as an independent expert witness for both the prosecution and defence and as an advisor during criminal trials. He works closely with the Social Services departments of various Local Authorities providing expert assessments of 'Schedule One' offenders, adolescents, women abusers and non-abusing mothers. He also runs courses in staff selection and supervision of persons working with children and has been involved in a number of inquiries where statutory workers have been accused of sexually abusing children. He assesses individuals who are facing disciplinary action for professional misconduct in cases where there is to be no criminal prosecution. He works closely with UK and other police forces in profiling, investigation and training police officers in interviewing techniques. He has also assisted in live police major investigations, advising on case management, supporting interview teams as well as directly interviewing suspects under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. He is qualified to undertake such interviews in virtue of completing the Internal Police Investigative and Interviewing Course. He has given evidence in a number of high profile Inquiries including evidence before the Royal Commission into the New South Wales police, The Nolan committee (enquiry into the Catholic Church: England and Wales) The Ferns Enquiry (Enquiry into the catholic church: Ireland) the Dabb's enquiry (Enquiry into abuse within Nursery schools) He has also been involved in major inquiries into the abuse within Children's Homes. He has spoken to organisations on the effects of terrorism on the British Prison System and to organisations who have to respond to the aftermath of terrorist attacks. Ray also offers training packages including "Combating trafficking" which has become an increasing problem. His knowledge of other criminal groups has led to Mr Wyre giving advice on a number of other non-sexual related crimes. This includes the interpretation of persons recorded on CCTV, police taped interviews and advice on aspects of organised crime. He is a consultant to a number of organisations developing appropriate child protection protocols, clinical services or offering advice on sexual crime and abuse and other criminal issues. Major contracts include, Stagecoach, a drama and theatre organisation with over 550 schools for children between 6 years and 16 years and Sportscoach. Other Service Level agreements services include First Choice holidays. In his independent capacity Ray has a specific role within these organisations of helping these staff develop safe organisations. This has been an important part of his work and helping institutions develop an "Arena of Safety" and an "Aware Culture" has become a recent priority. The work includes the need to look at how corruption is used to control the environment and the need to set up appropriate "Whistleblowing" procedures. He is also asked to assess individuals should there be an allegation of misconduct. He has published numerous articles in professional journals and the press and has contributed chapters on sex offending to a number of books on sex abuse. He is the author of "Women Men and Rape," "Working with Sex Abuse", "Sexual Crime Analysis Report", "Murder Squad" co-author with Tim Tate for the "The Murder of Childhood" and co-author with Derek Green, for the "Practitioners Guide Series". This series includes: Interviewing Sex Offenders, Cycles of behaviour, The Aware Culture and "Arena of Safety" and the Sex Offender in the community. He has appeared and acted as a consultant to many TV programmes and commentaries and is a regular contributor to international (BBC World) national and local television and radio news and features programmes, on subjects such as the use of pornography, the management of sexual offenders in the community and other crime and security issues. His desire to influence policy and public opinion through the use of the media is seen as an important part of his work. He is a Churchill Fellow (1984) having researched in America the treatment of both sex offenders and their victims. He is involved in a variety of training roles within statutory and voluntary agencies and runs courses on a number of interrelated subjects. He is in much demand as a conference speaker both nationally and internationally. Mr Wyre is also a qualified Social Worker with a Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW) and the Diploma in Social Work (DSW) and a Diploma in Theology (Dip Th) From 1967-1974 he was a weapons system electrician in the Royal Navy. From 1971 -1974 he was a submariner serving on both conventional and nuclear submarines. His contributions to personal, institutional and national security have led to his election as a Member of the City of London Guild of Security Professionals. 01.01.2007

Ray Wyre International Consultancy (RWIC)

Home of RWIC RWIC (Note: website no longer exists) It is with great regret that we at Ray Wyre Independent Consultancy announce that our friend and colleague Ray has passed away. He was in many ways the founder of this work and has been an inspiration for countless people, including his colleagues, over the years. His determination to see work through is something that we at RWIC share, and we will continue to develop practice in his memory. We are an organisation that is able to meet a variety of needs, providing individual experts and, where necessary, teams that are able to meet complex institutional problems, these include: [Original leader: 'Ray Wyre Independent Consultancy is an organisation that is able to meet a variety of needs, providing individual experts and, where necessary, teams that are able to meet complex institutional problems, these include:'] The assessment and treatment of individuals who are accused or are convicted of physical, sexual abuse and neglect.   The assessment and treatment of partners and extended family members who are related to the accused. Helping organisations develop and maintain safe boundaries for the service user and their staff. This includes 24 hour telephone support. (The “Aware Culture” and “The Arena of Safety”) Audit of computers and if necessary external monitoring of computers when individuals have misused them in the past but still need to use them in the future This monitoring is available to ordinary businesses that are concerned about computer usage. A wide range of courses available to organisations. These training courses are  normally carried out within the organisation requesting the training. The assessment and treatment of adolescents On-going block work and individual tailored assessment/treatment programmes for those where there is an identified need. A web forum where relevant issues can be discussed and concerns highlighted. Employment opportunities with RWIC.

Nothing can stop a determined abductor, but there is a chance the child is still alive, 07 May 2007

Nothing can stop a determined abductor, but there is a chance the child is still alive Timesonline By Dominic Kennedy May 7, 2007 If Madeleine McCann was abducted by a paedophile, there is a chance that she is still alive and can be saved by sensitive policing, according to Ray Wyre, a sexual crimes consultant. "Lately, there have been more and more cases where there has been an element of planning and an attempt to keep the child alive," he said. The most notorious such case involved the Belgian paedophile Marc Dutroux who kidnapped a 12-year-old girl in 1996 and kept her in a cellar for 80 days, a victim of abuse. In Britain, Alan Hopkinson, a convicted paedophile, kidnapped two 10-year-old girls in 1999 and held them in his flat in Eastbourne for three days, subjecting them to assaults. They were rescued by police. To maximise the possibility of finding Madeleine alive, police must avoid doing anything to make the kidnapper panic. If he believes that they are about to move in and catch him, he may become so alarmed that he kills the child to stop her being a witness. Dutroux was jailed on his victim's testimony. Sometimes children are kidnapped by barren or bereaved women or couples desperate to become parents. "That would offer great hope because the child would be looked after," Mr Wyre said. But the way Madeleine disappeared suggests a more sinister purpose. Her younger twin brother and sister were left in cots beside her. Yet a baby would have been much easier to snatch and hide. Mr Wyre has worked closely with the notorious serial sex killer Robert Black, who murdered at least three girls by snatching them into his van. He is suspected of killing a dozen children around Britain. The expert said that paedophiles were attracted by perfect-looking children like blonde Madeleine. If sex was the motive, she may have been chosen for her appearance. Children abducted by paedophiles have often been killed a few hours later or, at most, within the day. A child stolen for sex is often dead before anyone even reports they have gone. Portugal is known to attract British paedophiles. A ring of 20 Britons set up there around 1990, filming sex acts with local boys and sending the tapes to Belgium and the Netherlands. Some were later jailed in England. The case helped to persuade the British Government to make it illegal for Britons to have sex with underage children abroad. Mr Wyre went to Lisbon and became involved in the aftermath of that investigation. "There were still lots of connections and other things going on," he said. "There have always been British paedophiles operating in Portugal." Although Madeleine's parents will be feeling guilty for leaving her, Mr Wyre said that nothing can stop a determined paedophile except his capture.

What the Portuguese police must do, 10 May 2007

What the Portuguese police must do The Telegraph By Ray Wyre Last Updated: 2:06am BST 10/05/07 I have worked with men who have abducted and killed children. Often, their capture has failed to save the child and has not come about through good police work. The planning needed to take the child can not be overestimated. It was clear from the beginning in Portugal that we were dealing with an abduction and the need to "think offender" was essential. What was his motivation? How would he initiate contact and target the child? How would he control the environment to evade discovery? Portuguese police cannot ignore the UK's experience in such cases. In the early '90s a British paedophile group filmed the sexual abuse of Portuguese boys. At one stage the Americans were so concerned about the role of British paedophiles in Portugal that I was approached about the targeting of schools there. International co-operation should be part of police thinking. However, there is no culture of community policing in Portugal and they have laws that prevent the discussion of cases. This is clearly the wrong way round. The media are essential in passing co-ordinated and directed information to the community. In this case, speculation is rife, confused messages are likely to be given. The parents will be feeling guilty for leaving the children and even a half hour is a long time if a child wakes up and starts to cry immediately after one leaves the room. This could, possibly, lead to a woman on her own, who has lost a child, saying to herself wrongly that the parents did not care for this child and deciding to take the girl home. No paedophile, no conspiracy - just a lonely woman. The window of opportunity for the abductor means that the information given by the parents has to be very accurate. Police must help them to say exactly how long it was since they last saw their child. The parents need to know that if this was an offender who planned the abduction then there is probably nothing they could have done. I once asked an abductor who had killed girls how we could stop him. He said: "I suppose you would have to chain a child to the mother." But he added: "No, that would not work. I would take both." Ray Wyre is an expert in sexual crime who worked in the UK Probation Service in the 1970s before specialising in programmes for sex offenders.

'We're not going back without Madeleine', 27 May 2007

'But what is perhaps worse than the country's lax policing is its complete sense of denial that is has a problem with paedophiles. According to Ray Wyre, an acknowledged expert on sexual crimes, Portugal attracts huge numbers of them. He has been to the country several times helping track down paedophile rings. "British paedophiles have always operated there," he says. "If a child was being snatched on behalf of a barren couple, they would probably have taken one of the twins," he says. "The sad thing is that paedophiles are attracted to beautiful little girls, especially blondes, like Madeleine."' -----------------

'We're not going back without Madeleine' Sunday Telegraph By Olga Craig in Praia da Luz Last Updated: 12:34am BST 27/05/07 They are the first thing Kate and Gerry McCann see every morning as they leave their Algarve apartment to take their toddler twins to the creche: the enormous poster pictures appealing for any scrap of information on their missing four-year-old daughter, Madeleine. In the early days, Kate took comfort from seeing the impish, smiling face of her eldest child, who was snatched while she slept in the family's holiday apartment in the sleepy fishing of Praia da Luz. Not so this weekend. It is now 24 days since Madeleine vanished, and time and the blazing sunshine have taken their toll on the posters. The corners are curling, the poignant words describing Madeleine are faded and grey and the posters torn and ragged. They are a daily reminder that, thanks to the bungled investigation by Portuguese police, which consists of little more than vague sightings, the McCanns are no closer to finding their cherished child than they were on the night of May 3 when Kate, 38, went to check on her sleeping children and found her daughter missing. Though the McCanns have tried to steer clear of criticising the appallingly poor Portuguese investigation, wary of alienating the detectives upon whom they have been forced to depend, they realise that, if they are ever to see Madeleine again, they must seize control of events. Which is exactly what they are doing. In the past fortnight, the couple have surrounded themselves with a high-powered team of legal and press advisers who have but one aim in mind: keeping Madeleine McCann alive in the minds of the public. "The press help has been wonderful," Gerry, 38, told me yesterday morning, "but we know it can't last forever; we know that other news events will overtake Madeleine's abduction. So we have had to take control and to do that. Publicising our search for our daughter is vital." Yesterday, after a rushed visit to a children's playground with Amelie and Sean, their two-year-old twins, the pair sat down in their apartment in the Mark Warner complex in Praia to study CVs. Their first appointments, they realise, will be crucial. They need both a campaign manager and a fund manager. And they need them now. With more than £300,000 in the "find Madeleine" fund, they want to spend every penny carefully. "There is nothing more I would like to see than Madeleine walking in so we could use the fund to find other missing children," Gerry says. But he must know that the likelihood of that is fading daily. Their first mission will be a series of trips around Europe in the hope of keeping Madeleine's profile high. "Spain will be first, probably Madrid and Seville," he explains. "The majority of tourists who come to Portugal come from there. After that it will be Berlin, beginning in a fortnight, and then Holland. We lived in Amsterdam for a year, so we already have a good network of support there." The idea will be to meet politicians and child charities, anyone, as Gerry says, who can help keep Madeleine's haunting image in the public eye. Before they go, however, the couple have the difficult task of explaining the disappearance of their elder sister to the twins. "They still think they are on holiday and that Madeleine is on a trip," Kate says. "They wave and blow kisses at pictures of Madeleine on the television. When we buy ice creams, we buy five. But they have to have a normal childhood and next week a child psychologist will be coming out to advise us on the best way of explaining things to them." It is a wise decision. Police in Portugal have hinted that, such is their dearth of information, one possible way forward would be to try to gently coax information from the twins, who may have caught a glimpse of Madeleine's kidnapper. Any such interviews would have to be highly sensitive and it is likely that if the family were to agree, they would want a team of highly skilled professionals on hand. "The difficulty is that the McCann twins are so very young, barely talking yet," says Irene Mitchell, a child psychologist in Oxford. "It's true that, for example, in the murder of Lin Russell, her daughter Josie, though seriously injured, was able, through careful coaxing, to give police vital information. The problem in this case is that it is highly likely the twins were asleep when their sister was taken." The McCanns still cling to the hope that their daughter is still in Portugal, which is why they intend to keep their base in the country. And when they moved to an apartment near to the one from which Madeleine was abducted, they unpacked their missing daughter's clothes, too, laying out her pyjamas on what would have been her bed. But, as they point out, the border roads were not closed until 10am on the morning of May 4, 12 hours after Madeleine was snatched. To leave permanently without Madeleine would be like abandoning her, the heartbroken couple believe. "When we go home," Kate insists, "it will be as a family of five." Her husband is even more emphatic. "There is no way we are going home without Madeleine," he says with quiet vehemence. "This is not a time for grieving. We believe she is still alive, so grief is not the appropriate emotion. We are absolutely determined to get her back. It's a bit like we are waging a war. It's a backs-to-the-wall thing." Publicity back at home in Britain is a part of that war, they believe. Last week, the couple issued a home-made video, a collage of charming moments from Madeleine's life, with a backing track of the Simple Minds' hit Don't You Forget About Me. Cinema owners are considering showing the short film before every screening and of putting fresh posters in all their venues. British police have been openly critical of the Portuguese police, accusing them of failing to secure the crime scene and not taking seriously the idea that Madeleine had been snatched rather than simply wandered off. That failure may have allowed her abductor to whisk her out of the country. Just yesterday, the former Surrey police officer Mark Williams-Thomas, who helped the Portuguese police in the early days of their search, said that the investigation had hit a brick wall. "Those first few days were vital, they should have been searching every hotel room," he said. Instead, hours were lost. But what is perhaps worse than the country's lax policing is its complete sense of denial that is has a problem with paedophiles. According to Ray Wyre, an acknowledged expert on sexual crimes, Portugal attracts huge numbers of them. He has been to the country several times helping track down paedophile rings. "British paedophiles have always operated there," he says. "If a child was being snatched on behalf of a barren couple, they would probably have taken one of the twins," he says. "The sad thing is that paedophiles are attracted to beautiful little girls, especially blondes, like Madeleine." The McCanns, meanwhile, refuse to contemplate the horrific possibility that they might have lost their daughter forever. They remain resolute in their faith that Madeleine will come home. "You have to steer away from the negative," says Gerry. "Going through the scenarios doesn't help us, it destroys us." Today the family of four will make their weekly pilgrimage to the Lady of the Light chapel in Praia da Luz to say mass for Madeleine. And to pray that they return to England as a family of five.

After three long months without their daughter, what now for the McCanns?, 28 July 2007

After three long months without their daughter, what now for the McCanns? Daily Mail By David Jones Last Updated at 09:10am on 28th July 2007 - Extract - 'However, according to Ray Wyre, an expert on paedophilia who advised detectives on the Fred and Rose West murder investigation, the decision to keep Madeleine at the top of the news agenda could have serious ramifications. "There are two potential scenarios," he told me. "If you are Madeleine's parents, it is understandable to want publicity because it might bring information. "And it means you are not dealing with bereavement; you are dealing with a lost child. "On the other hand, if Madeleine is in captivity, a high-profile campaign could make her position even worse. "Her captor may feel it necessary to shut her away for longer periods to avoid her being recognised. "There's also the possibility that the abductor - or killer - may be watching the McCanns and getting kicks out of what they are doing. "If you are dealing with a sadist, publicity can become part of the problem. As awful as these possibilities are, they should be assessed carefully." Since the McCanns are receiving psychological help, these risks must have been taken into account. Mr Wyre also expressed a concern that, as in so many cases of family trauma, the strain of losing Madeleine might adversely affect the twins and cause cracks in the McCanns' relationship. Happily, in this regard at least, Gerry McCann's mother has no fears. "I know a lot of people split up in situations like theirs, but no way," she said. "Gerry adores Kate, and she adores him. They were very much in love before, and they still are. I can see in their manner towards each other that it's still there. "They are saying that all that matters is the twins until they get Madeleine back. "They spend more time with them than ever. Kate is there at bath-time, lunch-time, dinner-time and bed-time. At the beginning, she wasn't able to do that."'

Madeleine blog on Ray Wyre's website, 25 September 2007

Madeleine blog on Ray Wyre's website raywyre.uk.com (no longer registered) Madeleine McCann RW Having just come back from mainland Europe where I had been looking at the possible rape of two children I was made very aware of the differences in not only the legal system but also the way that police investigate such crimes. Whilst some of what happened was very good one began to ask the question as to whether or not one could take the best of the criminal investigation systems and the best of the legal systems and develop a more harmonised approach. Why do we for example want the European Union to standasise so much, but still leave legal and policing systems so different. The McCanns case is a prime example. Whilst secrecy in police investigation, is important, one needs to recognise that for some crimes one has to have a different approach. It is not good enough to say that this is the law in Portugal. If it is, it needs to change. Child abduction is not one of those crimes that needs the police to be secretive. its about the police co-ordinating all of the information inclusing press releases. Including what the McCanns say. Filtering information and using it. The police need the eyes and the ears of the community and therefore they should be like the director of the play. Co-ordinating all of the information.Informing the public, They will still hold onto information but how they use it will be part of the Senior invesigators remit. If as in Portugal they do not, the press, the family, the general public will become the detectives. Speculation will be rife. One will never know whether we are dealing with leaked information or with just speculation. We will be like a rudderless boat at the mercy of the wind. In my opinion the McCanns have been failed in so many ways, and even now to have to employ media representatives, their own private detectives is indicativbe of what happens when the police fail to control the investigation. However as loss is a different motive to bereavement one can see how and why it is happened. However even their campaign should be directed by information coming into the enquiry. I have worked with men who abduct and kill children I have some knowledge of this type of crime. I have been asked by the press many times to provide a profile, to assess whether or not the McCanns have killed the children. How does one even begin to answer the questions if one does not have access to the police intelligence and investigation . To comment on profiling can be irresponsible and part of the problem. I have no idea as to the accuracy of anything. One often thinks when you see a headline . "Madeline seen in car at garage just after the abduction" as to why someone who has abducted a child had not thought before the abduction to fill up with petrol before they grabbed Madeline and why go into a high risk situation. Infact most of the headlines i see do not take into consideration the words "think offender". However for those police officers and pyschologists in Englnad that may have had access to the enquiry and for the forensic units to have information but to then follow portugese guidelines on secrecy is a problem. Even if forensics who have a context for the DNA do not believe that the DNA in the boot of the car is proof of the McCanns killing their child they are unable to say. Instead we specualte, Why would they, if they were offenders, remove a child that had been hidden so well that no one during the earlier intensive searches suddenly bring the body out of hiding and hide it somewhere else with all of the risks involved? "think offender* As such the McCanns continue to go through the pain of losing their daughter, being accused and seeing the focus removed from "looking for their daughter" It is not good enough for a European country to say "its our law". If the law is causing a problem as I believe it clearly has in this type of case than it needs to be changed. Community policing v military style secretive policing has in my opinion never been debated in the European parliament. If im wrong please let me know. This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 9:45 am

Exclusive: McCanns are 'totally innocent', 27 January 2008

EXCLUSIVE: MCCANNS ARE 'TOTALLY INNOCENT' The People By Marcello Mega And Daniel Jones 27 January 2008 EXCLUSIVE TRUTH ABOUT THE McCANNS: BY TOP UK CRIME CRACKER Kate and Gerry played NO part in the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine, one of the world's top crime experts declared last night. Ray Wyre - who has given Cracker-style testimony to courts since the 1970s - said: "It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for them to have been involved." He insisted the grief-stricken parents were incapable of doing anything to harm their children. He told how the couple feared Maddie was dead in the hours after she vanished - the first time their initial anguish has been revealed. And he heaped scorn on claims the McCanns are being torn apart by the tragedy, adding: "They are a close and loving couple." Wyre spoke out as it was revealed Portuguese cops now believe four-year-old Maddie may have been abducted - as Kate and Gerry have always claimed. The couple met Wyre, 56, to discuss setting up an international taskforce to help cops trace missing children. They poured out their hearts to him and his wife Charmaine over dinner at the ace criminologists's home in Milton Keynes, Bucks. Wyre - who's helped nail a string of monsters including child-killer Robert Black - said: "I was with them for several hours and I could not help but apply some of the practices I use when I'm carrying out assessments of suspects for police and the courts. "I can state categorically there is no way they were involved in their daughter's murder or disappearance. "They would be incapable of such an act. "I have more than 30 years' experience in this field and am used to people trying to hide dark secrets. "There was NO sign of any such deceit. It is absolutely impossible for them to have been involved." And Wyre paid a moving tribute to the way the 39-year-old couple manage to think of other people even though their hearts are broken. He said: "It was humbling and moving to meet the McCanns. "They brought flowers for my wife, which brought tears to our eyes. "You consider what they've been through and they still bring flowers when they come to your home." Wyre hit out at shocking claims of eating disorders and marriage rifts made about Kate and heart specialist Gerry, whose twins Sean and Amelie have just turned three. He said: "It can't have helped while they've had this massive tragedy on their hands. "Days before we met I was reading an ill-informed article saying they were growing apart. "But they are a close and loving couple who are certainly united in their roles of being good parents to the twins and maintaining momentum in their quest to find Madeleine. "There is no doubt they are a couple - they are together and they support and comfort one another. "They were very warm and friendly to each other and there was no sign of dispute between them. "During the meal, Gerry often put his armround the back of Kate's chair. "They were affectionate to one another all the time. They looked very much together. "As for any suggestion Kate might have an eating disorder, it's nonsense. She sat down to my wife's home-made lasagne and garlic bread with a smile and really enjoyed it . "And she tucked into the banoffee pie for pudding like the rest of us." Wyre told how for 72 hours after Maddie vanished in Praia da Luz on May 3 last year the McCanns were certain their daughter was dead. Their despair has never been made public before - and Wyre blasted critics who insist they have not expressed enough grief. He said: "For three days, all they could see in their minds was Madeleine lying dead. "They were in complete agreement she'd been taken by a predator, abused and killed. "They were certain they would never see her alive again. The image of her lying murdered hardly left them and they expected at any time to receive the news that her body had been found. "When three days passed and that had not happened, they began to feel the stirring of hope. "They reasoned it was most likely that if someone had seized her to abuse and kill her, her body would probably have been nearby and would have been found. "They continue to cling to that hope - but they are also prepared for the worst. "However, as long as she remains missing I know they will not rest in their efforts to find her." Wyre also told The People how GP Kate is so dedicated to answering the flood of emails she gets every day about Maddie she sometimes gets up at 4am to deal with them all. His tribute came as detectives in Portugal finally admitted they could be WRONG in their belief that the McCanns - from Rothley, Leics - were involved in Maddie's disappearance. Prosecutors had named the couple as official suspects in September. And since then police have been hellbent on trying to prove Kate and Gerry had hidden their daughter's body after the youngster died in their Algarve holiday apartment. Investigators even claimed they had enough evidence to charge the couple just three weeks ago. But yesterday police sources admitted the McCanns may have been telling the truth all along. And detectives are now set to review the case and quiz all the witnesses again. The amazing about-turn comes after a British laboratory said DNA tests carried out on blood samples found in the Praia da Luz flat and the couple's hire-car had been inconclusive. The theory Maddie had been kidnapped was also given another boost last week with the release of a sketch of a possible suspect. A source told Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas: "There are now two hypotheses on the table - abduction or accidental death. "There are no concrete proofs to charge the current suspects. "No line of inquiry can be discounted - but the first hypothesis is the most credible." The McCanns' family spokesman Clarence Mitchell told The People last night: "We welcome any movement on the part of the police that accepts Madeleine was abducted - because that's what happened. "It's ridiculous we've had to wait this long for any indication they believe Kate and Gerry are telling the truth. "The sooner the police realise they don't have a case against them, the sooner they focus on finding Madeleine - which is what this investigation should be about."

Find the Madeleine Monster, 27 January 2008

FIND THE MADELEINE MONSTER The People By Daniel Jones 27 January 2008 TRUTH ABOUT THE McCANNS: BY TOP UK CRIME CRACKER Maddie's little brother and sister are learning to cope with their devastating loss by playing a game called Find The Monster Who Snatched Her. And three-year-old twins Sean and Amelie are also playing a vital role in keeping their mum and dad focused, according to top criminologist Ray Wyre. He told The People last night: "I think having other very young children has given Kate and Gerry the strength to go on. "It must be hard for them because the twins are now almost the same age as Maddie was when she was taken. "But they are clearly a bundle of energy and fun. "They still talk about Madeleine and even bring her into their games." Wyre went on: "Kate and Gerry told me they were sitting together the other day when the twins rushed into the room screaming and shouting. "They asked what they were up to and the twins told them they were going to go and find the monster that took Maddie. "Then they dashed off to play the game." He added: "Of course, it's a very sad story. "But it's healthy that Madeleine remains a real presence in their lives."