AR-A1[1] was 12 years old when he was taken into care and sent to the Bryn Alyn Community, a group of privately run children’s homes in North Wales. He told us that he suffered sexual, physical and psychological abuse and neglect at the hands of John Allen, a member of staff, and another child.
AR-A1’s life has been “blighted by the effects of the abuse; perhaps even more than the abuse itself”. He explained that he has never been able to trust people, which has also impacted on his children. He has felt suicidal and without value or self-worth. For many years, he was trapped in a cycle of seeking support which “never really worked”, and which re-traumatised him, affecting his ability to work, parent and carry on. He was finally able to break this cycle and obtain the support he needed due to a combination of factors, including family support and self-education, which was “the beginning of the healing process that has worked”.
AR-A1 did not join the group litigation against Bryn Alyn. He said he was trying to avoid anything to do with Bryn Alyn and there “was the idea of this dirty money that I had in my mind”.
In 2014, AR-A1 gave evidence in the criminal trial of John Allen, who was convicted of a number of offences against him, including rape, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Police officers put him in touch with Victim Support and a telephone counselling service. Although he attempted to use the telephone counselling service, he said he was never really going to be helped on the telephone. He was also informed about the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). Having previously said “I don’t want the dirty money”, he finally decided he wanted to get some compensation for his family as well as “acknowledgement”. He received £22,000 but found the process “demeaning and confusing and traumatic”. He thought that the award had only been made in respect of abuse committed by John Allen and unsuccessfully reapplied in respect of the other abuse.
AR-A1 is still seeking accountability and reparations through a civil claim against the local authority which placed him at Bryn Alyn.
“What we want generally – it’s not like a lottery where we win money. What we want is, recognise that this stuff happened, recognise it didn’t need to happen. We need to hold to account the systems, if not the people, that the systems failed us. If we can all achieve that, and if, as I mentioned earlier on, we can also recognise that the adversities that are caused in these circumstances are lifelong in their effect and generationally they affect so many people, if there is a recognition of all of that, then perhaps these organisations will be far more careful in the future, and hopefully prevent it from happening again and again and again.”
AR-A41[2] was taken into care when he was 11 years old and was eventually sent to Forde Park Approved School. He told us he was sexually assaulted and raped by several teachers there over a number of years.
For a long time, he struggled to tell anyone about the abuse:
“Nobody ever believed us at the time. Who was going to believe us then? You know, I was still, with what happened to me, that little boy, petrified, afraid to bring this sort of thing out.”
He was eventually encouraged to speak to the police and gave evidence at two criminal trials, an experience he found extremely stressful, despite receiving support from the police.
AR-A41 brought a civil claim against Devon County Council. He wanted retribution, payment for the damage that had been done to him and a real, sincere apology from the Council and the Home Office.
He struggled to understand the litigation process and felt overwhelmed by being part of a group. He remembers that he was told by his lawyers how much his claim was likely to be worth and the claim was settled for much less than he was expecting. He could not comprehend how a value could be placed on the lifelong effects of the abuse he suffered.
“The ordeal of the trials completely re-traumatised me in more ways than one.”
He told us that he is still looking for proper psychiatric support because, even after 55 years, his mental anguish remains.
“What it does to your head is just horrendous.”
Paul Connolly[3] was at St Leonard’s, a children’s home, for 12 years from the age of seven. He told us that he resisted attempted rapes by staff members and saw other children being sexually assaulted by staff. He would hide under a bed with a knife to avoid being taken from his dormitory and abused at night.
Mr Connolly gave a statement to the police for a criminal prosecution but felt that justice had not been done in the criminal cases.
He joined a group of victims and survivors bringing a civil claim against Tower Hamlets London Borough Council in 2002. He saw it as “another chance to get some kind of justice and … some kind of recognition … not just for myself, but for the families and the kids that … I grew up with”. His claim was settled before trial for £16,000. He said he was not interested in the money and had really hoped for his “day in court”.
Mr Connolly came to give evidence to the Inquiry to “insist that Tower Hamlets apologise for the tragedy of St Leonard’s, to me and my family, and especially to my friends who have not survived and their families”.
AR-A87[4] was sent to St Aidan’s, an approved school which later became a community home providing education, when he was about 13 or 14 years old. He was only there for around a year but he told us that he was sexually abused on three occasions by a teacher. After he left, he was so ashamed that he could not tell anyone, not even his wife when he was an adult. He first disclosed the abuse to the police in the 1990s but did not give evidence in any criminal proceedings.
AR-A87 brought a civil claim against Nugent Care, the organisation responsible for St Aidan’s. He was not seeking money but justice, and wanted his abusers convicted for their crimes. He also wanted his day in court.
“That was the most important thing, to actually have my day in court. I wanted to face my abusers and to be believed by the court that what happened to me did happen.”
The litigation process for AR-A87’s claim lasted 12 years and his claim was the subject of two trials. At each trial, the judge accepted that he was abused.
“at the end of the day, that’s all I wanted: I wanted to be able to stand there, give my evidence and for somebody to turn around and say … ‘I believe you … ’. That, to me, was everything.”
Ultimately though, the court rejected AR-A87’s claim on the basis that it was brought too late. He said that, if he had his time again, he would not bring a civil claim. It took away many years of his life and at the end he was just abandoned, with nobody to care for him. He said that the pressure of repeated court hearings made him ill and tore his family apart.
AR-A87 also made a claim to the CICA but this too was rejected,[5] as was his application for a review of that decision.[6] Because no action was taken when the police first investigated, and a subsequent criminal prosecution was stayed on a legal technicality, the CICA could not say whether AR-A87 had been the victim of an assault.[7]
Peter Robson[8] went into care in 1963, when he was 11 years old, and was placed at Stanhope Castle Approved School from 1963 to 1967. He told us that an older boy in the next bed repeatedly raped him within his first year. He was also caned across his bare bottom by a schoolmaster. He suspects he suffered further sexual abuse which he has blocked out from his memory.
Mr Robson only managed to speak to the police about the abuse in 2015. Over the years, he has had mental health issues, including feeling suicidal. He has tried to access support services but these always felt insufficient. He felt that he needed “a lifetime of help” following the abuse he suffered. The police were supportive but they could not trace his abuser.
The police directed him to counselling and to make a claim to the CICA. His claim was refused due to a lack of corroborating evidence. He was upset by this, mainly because he felt he had not been believed. However, with the assistance of his lawyers, he applied for a review of the decision, which was reversed, and he was awarded £22,000.