What is striking about this case is that anyone would put incriminating images of himself on the internet. However these kinds of convictions continue to be reported on the media. See our article about claiming damages for child pornography.

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If convicted, there may be civil claims brought not only against the alleged abuser, but also his employers, the school. See the case of X & Y v Wandsworth for an example of such a claim on our website under the Library Section.

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The review was commissioned by the Diocese and reported in October.

The Catholic Church has been riven with child abuse scandals for some years, as well as the ongoing litigation brought by victims. See our caselaw library in “Resources” for reported cases.

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Apparently the assaults occurred at his home as he gave the children, extracurricular maths lessons.

The conviction follows on from an inquiry into St Benedict’s, which concluded that school should not be controlled by monks from Ealing Abbey. That inquiry was in turn sparked by the conviction of  a former headmaster of the school for the abuse of minors. See the BBC report. Another man, a former abbott of the abbey and a teacher at the school is still wanted for questioning in relation to allegations of abuse at the school. See BBC report.

Click here to see examples of civil claims made against the Catholic Church.

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One of the men was convicted of abusing a child in the 1950′s, but the church allowed him to become a priest even though they were aware of his past.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has ordered a review into child protection procedures in the Diocese of Chichester in West Sussex. The review follows on from recommendations made by Baroness Butler-Sloss. There is also understood to be an ongoing investigation into the alleged misconduct of Bishop Wallace Benn, Bishop of Lewes who apparently allowed one of the men to continue officiating as a priest. 

The Church of England introduced formal child protection procedures in 1995, whilst the Catholic Church followed suit in 2001 following the publication of the “Nolan Report”. Both bodies have employed priests, who have used their position to abuse children although it is probably fair to say that the reports of abuse have been far more numerous in the Catholic Church. 

The Church of England’s procedure stipulates that where an allegation of abuse of made, the church must report the matter to social services. This is crucial because the mere fact of referral may then lead to an investigation and prosecution of the offender. The practical point is that such action (even if it does not lead to any prosecution) can stop the abuse then and there. The common mistake made by the Catholic Church has been to cover up the allegations and move the priest on.

In the case of one of the paedophiles allowed to practise as Church of England priests, the problem is that the abuse that he committed took place in the late seventies to early eighties, long before there was any child protection procedure. That does not excuse the church, because at that time, the danger of paedophiles was well known and there existed informal arrangements between the police and social services for making checks. The problem was that the church seemed to be too ready to forgive, rather than treating the existence of a convicted abuser within its ranks as a matter of the most serious concern. In short, child protection is not a matter for spiritual deliberation.

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Verisona is seeking substantial damages from the States on behalf of former residents of the Haut de la Garenne children’s home. The law firm specialises in historic abuse cases.

See our other blogs on this story below.

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The government-commissioned report recommends regular assessments of all pre-school children, focusing on their social and emotional development. Graham Allen’s report also calls for a national parenting programme in the UK.The Labour MP was asked to assess how children from disadvantaged backgrounds could be given the best start in life. His report says success or failure in early childhood has “profound economic consequences” and calls for more private money to be channelled into early intervention schemes to help set children on the right path in life.

Children who experience severe abuse and neglect in early years may well suffer permanent damages. They exhibit a number of disorders in later life characterised by the combination of persistently aggressive, dissocial or defiant behaviour with overt symptoms and marked symptoms of depression, anxiety or other emotional upsets. They may struggle to cope with education and employment, and well end up in Young Offenders Institutions.

However intervention by outside agencies, such as schools and local authorities can actually make a huge difference.

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Former Home Secretary Jack Straw has been criticised for suggesting there was a racial element to grooming. CEOP told the BBC it was looking at the grooming of young girls as part of a wider examination of all abuse.

Sexual grooming is not confined to any one racial group and the writer would be interested to see the evidence that it is a particular problem in the Pakistani community. Different cultures may well have different attitudes to the issue of child abuse, but in reality there are any number of grooming cases involving white men, quite apart from the organised traffic in women by Eastern European and Far Eastern gangs for the purposes of prostitution. One of the typical characteristics of abuse is the wall of silence that builds up in families and communities.  That is seen in all types of racial groups.

At the same time, abuse is also about opportunity. What made the Derby case particularly disturbing was the organised approach by a group of men to vulnerable girls, some of whom were in the care system. However this is really no different from the  abuse that took place in children’s homes in the 70s and 80′s where in theory, children were supposed to have more protection than if they had been living in the community. Criminals have long targeted children for the purposes of assisting in committing crimes such as burglarly and drug dealing. The Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist and its depiction of Fagin has modern paralells.

The real question is to ask what precisely gave these men the opportunity to abuse. The writer suspects that the answers will be far uncomfortable than the unsubstantiated notion that this is something that Pakistani men are more likely to do.

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Very young children in nurseries are particularly vulnerable. All nurseries are required to be licensed and they are in fact heavily regulated. The Care Standards Act 2000 set out the primary legislation relating to nurseries, and this was followed by a raft of regulations in 2001 and later years.

However the inability of very young children to disclose abuse makes them a vulnerable target.

In relation to compensation, all the children would probably have a good civil claim against the nursery if the worker is in fact convicted. The case of Lister v Hesley Hall   in 2001 states that a care worker who abuses children in his or her care would probably make their employer vicariously liable for all torts committed by them. In addition, each child would have a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority a government body set up to award compensation to victims of crime.

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Warrants were issued in Nunavut territory in 2002 for his arrest. Interpol has also issued a warrant.

Canada has had its own child abuse scandals, which have emerged in the criminal and civil courts. Its civil legal system has some similarities with that of England and Wales.

In the case of Blackwater v Plint 2005 the government of Canada and the United Church of Canada operated an Indian residential school in British Columbia in the 1940’s to the 1960’s. Aboriginal children were taken from their families and subject to corporal punishment. Some were seriously sexually assaulted. A number of students brought actions for damages. The trial judge found that all the claims other than those of a sexual nature were statute barred, but held the government of Canada liable for the assaults on the basis of breach of non-delegable statutory duty. In addition Canada and the Church were jointly and vicariously liable. The trial judge dismissed the allegations of negligence on the evidence before him. The Court of Appeal of British Columbia applied a doctrine of charitable immunity to exempt the church from liability and placed the liability on the government of Canada. The case came before the Supreme Court of Canada, which upheld the trial judge’s finding that the government was 75% at fault and the church 25% at fault. Since they were found jointly and severally liable, the parties could recover full damages against either or both of them.

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