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IICSA published its final Report in October 2022. This website was last updated in January 2023.

IICSA Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

Accountability and Reparations Investigation Report

B.5: St Aidan’s and St Vincent’s

30. St Aidan’s and St Vincent’s were approved schools which later became community homes providing education on the premises. They housed children in Widnes in Cheshire and Formby in Merseyside. They were owned and managed by a Roman Catholic organisation known as Catholic Social Services and then as Nugent Care Society. St Aidan’s closed in 1982 and St Vincent’s in 1989.[1] Some former residents of St Aidan’s and St Vincent’s endured well over a decade of litigation in the civil courts. A focus of our investigation in this case study was, therefore, the long process of civil litigation and how it impacted on the experiences of victims and survivors.

Allegations of sexual abuse

31. Victims and survivors told us that children at St Aidan’s and St Vincent’s were repeatedly subject to sexual abuse, including groping, anal sex, oral sex and masturbation, as well as other abuse.

31.1. AR-A87 told us that he was indecently assaulted three times by a teacher when he was around 13 or 14 years old.[2]

31.2. AR-A36, who was at St Aidan’s, was indecently touched and then raped on several occasions by Colin Dick,[3] a housemaster.[4]

31.3. AR-A79 described that he was sexually assaulted by more than one person, including Dick. He believes he has suppressed his memories of other abuse.[5]

31.4. AR-A2 was sexually abused by other residents and members of staff. He was groomed by AR-F1 and forced by him into anal sex, oral sex and masturbation.[6]

32. This abuse and its aftermath prompted feelings of shame[7] and lasting psychological damage.[8] AR-A36 told us that he could never forget the abuse.[9] AR-A2 said that it had destroyed his childhood and most of his social life.[10]

33. During our hearings, a lawyer representing Nugent Care read a message from the chair of trustees, Father Michael Fitzsimons. He said that the trustees “are deeply sorry that former residents suffered under the abuse at the hands of individuals who were employed by our charity and committed appalling crimes”. The trustees acknowledged the hurt and trauma experienced by residents, and offered to signpost and facilitate contact with support and counselling. The chair of trustees also offered to meet former residents to listen to their experiences and to offer a personal and organisational apology.[11]

Police investigations

34. In 1994, Cheshire Constabulary launched Operation Emily to investigate allegations of abuse against children at St Aidan’s. A number of suspects had died, but four abusers were eventually convicted.[12] These included Dick, who pleaded guilty to indecent assault and buggery of children at St Aidan’s between 1978 and 1981 and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.[13]

35. There have been further investigations into alleged abuse at St Aidan’s and Cheshire Constabulary informed us that an investigation into allegations made by one individual is ongoing.[14]

36. Merseyside Police investigated abuse at St Vincent’s and other children’s homes (known as Operation Van Gogh and later Operation Care) after allegations were made by 45 victims and survivors against 20 suspects. Some of these suspects had died and some had no further action taken against them, whilst two progressed to trial and at least one was convicted.[15]

Litigation

37. The St Aidan’s and St Vincent’s litigation lasted from 1997 to 2010.[16] The claims were part of a group of cases known as the North West child abuse litigation. The defendant in the St Aidan’s and St Vincent’s claims was Nugent Care Society, whose insurer was RSA.[17]

38. The other claims in the group arose from child sexual abuse at Danesford, Greystone Heath and Dyson Hall. Danesford was a children’s home run by the National Children’s Home, who were insured by the Methodist Insurance Company. Greystone Heath and Dyson Hall were children’s homes in Liverpool, run by Liverpool City Council.[18]

39. Shortly after the litigation started in 1997, the defendants sought to strike out[19] the whole of the litigation on the technical basis that the claimants had not identified themselves openly in the court documents, in order to preserve their anonymity. This was unsuccessful. The defendants sought permission to appeal, but in June 1998 the Court of Appeal refused their application.[20]

40. By the end of January 1999, claims arising from abuse at Danesford began to settle, and in April 2000 the defendant withdrew from the group. Between April 2003 and May 2004, claims in relation to Greystone Heath and Dyson Hall were settled in a series of meetings between the parties.[21]

41. In the early years of the litigation, various attempts were made to settle the Nugent Care claims, including an unsuccessful mediation in 2004.[22] A number of trials and appeals followed.

41.1. Three test cases were heard in November 2006. One case was allowed to proceed, but two failed on limitation grounds, including the claim of AR-A87.[23]

41.2. The two unsuccessful claimants appealed, asking the Court of Appeal to reconsider the decision by the judge to refuse to extend the limitation period in their claims. This appeal was delayed to await the outcome in the case of A v Hoare, which was decided by the House of Lords in January 2008 and held that the extendable three-year limitation period for personal injury claims should apply to all sexual abuse claims.[24]

41.3. The decision of A v Hoare enabled the group of claimants to amend their case to allege vicarious liability for assault,[25] which was a simpler way of arguing liability (discussed in Part C).

41.4. In June 2008, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in the test cases and asked the High Court to reconsider its decision.[26]

41.5. In January 2009, the High Court reconsidered the two cases, alongside two other claims. In two of the four claims, including one of the original test cases, the judge decided to exercise his discretion and let the case continue. In the other two claims, including AR-A87’s, the judge declined to allow the case to proceed as it was outside the limitation period.[27]

41.6. The cases were appealed, but the judgment of the Court of Appeal in July 2009 did not alter the High Court’s decision on which claims could proceed. For AR-A87, the rejection of his appeal meant his claim had ended.[28]

42. By October 2009, the High Court had ordered trials of several further lead claims. Three were heard in early 2010. Two claimants were awarded damages and one failed for limitation reasons.[29]

43. We were told that, of 120 claimants from St Aidan’s and St Vincent’s, 71 were successful and 49 unsuccessful.[30] However, as with the Bryn Alyn litigation, it took more than 12 years for the claims to be concluded.

References

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