Israeli panel: Australian woman fit to stand trial
for child sex abuse
By Sommer Brokaw
Accused pedophile Malka Leifer (C) arrives at Jerusalem District court for a hearing on February 27, 2018.
File Photo by Atef Safadi/EPA-EFE
(UPI) -- A court-appointed psychiatric panel in Israel ruled Thursday that a fugitive Australian woman accused of sexually abusing three young girls is fit to stand trial, meaning she could return to her native country after years of avoiding prosecution.
Malka Leifer, a former principal at Melbourne's ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School for girls, fled Australia several years ago after learning of 74 criminal charges against her. The mother of eight has denied wrongdoing.
Leifer has said she's mentally unfit to stand trial since her arrest in Israel in 2014. She began working at the school as head of Jewish studies in 2000 and was principal from 2002 until 2008. A Jerusalem court determined in 2016 she was unfit to be tried.
After accusations of sex abuse surfaced in 2008, Leifer was dismissed from the school. Community members associated with the school board, however, helped her flee to Israel and the school never reported the accusations to police, which drew a civil lawsuit.
Leifer was arrested again in 2018 on suspicion of feigning mental illness to avoid extradition after a police investigation raised questions about the state of her mental health. The district court ordered the new panel to assess her psychological fitness.
Thursday's ruling also accused Leifer of feigning mental illness to avoid prosecution.
"From the day we began collecting evidence that Malka Leifer was faking her mental illness, we have been waiting anxiously for this outcome," Jewish Community Watch Director Meyer Seewald said after Thursday's decision. "We hope that this is a turning point in this drawn-out saga, and that Malka Leifer will be swiftly extradited to Australia to face her accusers in court."
The panel also recommended Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman be charged with fraud and breach of trust for pressing ministry employees to produce a false psychiatric report to help Leifer avoid extradition. Israeli authorities made a similar recommendation for Litzman in August.
Scandinavian woman 'forced to withdraw rape claim' in case similar to British teen's Cyprus ordeal
Cyprus police assume all rape victims are liars
The British woman is led into a courthouse in Paralimni, Cyprus CREDIT: AFP
The Telegraph
A Scandinavian woman says she was forced by Cypriot police to withdraw a rape claim or face arrest, in a striking parallel to the case of a British teenager who was allegedly gang raped on the Mediterranean island.
The Scandinavian woman said police officers questioned her aggressively for several hours after she was raped by two men outside a nightclub.
The officers accused her of lying and said that if she did not withdraw the rape claim they would arrest her and send her to prison.
Her account bears striking similarities to the alleged treatment of a British teenager who was convicted last week of lying about being gang-raped by Israeli tourists in the resort town of Ayia Napa.
She made the initial complaint in July but 10 days later, after being questioned without a lawyer for eight hours in a police station, signed a retraction statement.
The alleged gang rape of the British teenager happened in the resort of Ayia Napa CREDIT: AFP
In fact, she was given a suspended sentence and a very minor fine and she has returned to the UK.
The 19-year-old British woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the trial that officers threatened to arrest her and her friends unless she retracted the claims of being gang raped by a group of young Israeli men.
After reading about the Ayia Napa case, the Scandinavian woman decided to come forward with her account of similar treatment at the hands of the Cypriot police 20 years ago.
It is the first time she has spoken publicly of the assault and has previously only discussed it with her doctor and her husband.
Now aged 43, she was 21 when she met the men in a nightclub in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, in January 1998.
They offered to give her a lift to her hotel. Instead, they raped her in a car park. “I fought for my life and thought I was going to die,” she told The Telegraph.
She went to the nearest police station to report the rape and was taken to a hospital for an examination. She was then taken to a police station for questioning. “The main investigator was extremely brutal and aggressive. I was in big shock so I had some difficulties remembering details.
“This made him very angry. He then started accusing me of making the whole story up to receive money from my insurance company.” The same allegation was made in court by Cypriot police against the British woman.
Both alleged victims said they were mystified by the accusation because they did not think that holiday insurance covered rape and had no intention of claiming any financial compensation.
“I was very afraid and felt trapped in the room with them. They treated me as a big criminal. They kept me in the police station for many hours. They told me that if I didn’t withdraw the rape allegation they would arrest me and send me to prison. So I did and they let me go,” said the Scandinavian woman, who asked to remain anonymous.
She said she was still deeply affected by the ordeal and had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder – just like the British teenager who is on trial. “The treatment I received from police was terrible,” she said.
Michael Polak, a British lawyer representing the British woman, told The Telegraph: “This case bears remarkable similarities to the teenager’s case. It raises serious questions about the investigation of rape in Cyprus and the treatment of rape complainants there.”
In a report in 1998, a Norwegian newspaper claimed that police on the island routinely dismissed rape claims, treating the victims as liars.
The report quoted a Norwegian tour operator who said that “police never take rape claims seriously. All such claims are treated as false.”
“Police have a theory that tourists make such allegations so they can claim expenses for their holiday,” the report said.
A senior Cyprus police officer was quoted as saying: "Why rape when it's so easy to find somebody to have sex with?"
Duncan, B.C. man who held woman captive, viciously beat her to spend 1 year behind bars
Curious case: A man kidnaps a woman and holds her for several days,
but, apparently, doesn't rape her - he just beats her to a pulp
BY SIMON LITTLE GLOBAL NEWS
Kehar Garry Sangha hides his face during a bail hearing in July 2019. . Global News
A Vancouver Island man who held a woman captive in his Cowichan Valley home and viciously beat her will serve just over a year in jail.
Kehar Garry Sangha pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and forcible confinement, and was sentenced to five-and-a-quarter years in jail, but will serve 416 days in jail after credit for 1,500 days time served.
Sangha was arrested on April 11, 2017, after police responded to a 911 call from a woman with severe injuries to her face.
The woman told police Sangha had held her against her will at his Duncan, B.C. home for several days.
She was eventually able to escape through a bathroom window and ran across a farmer’s field to safety.
A contractor from a nearby property found her so badly beaten that her face was reportedly unrecognizable, and reportedly believed she was wearing a mask.
Police at the time said Sangha and the victim knew one another.
Along with his year of jail time, Sangha will see two years of probation. He must provide a DNA sample, take counselling, and has been banned from contacting the victim.
He’s also been assessed a 10-year weapons ban and a lifetime firearms ban.
Female sex predator jailed for 8 years after posing as teen boy to assault up to 50 schoolgirls
Gemma Watts wore a baseball cap and a hoodie to fool girls into believing she was a teenage boy. © Met Police
UK police say Gemma Watts may have assaulted up to 50 school girls while posing as a 16-year-old school boy named ‘Jake Watton.’ Officers said many of her victims may only realise they had been duped by the predator now that she has been jailed and her case widely publicised.
Female sex predator jailed for 8 years after posing as teen boy to assault up to 50 schoolgirls
© REUTERS/Simon Dawson
Watts began what the judge described as her “predatory behavior” when she was 19 and targeted a number of 13 to 16 year olds. She convinced the children to swap intimate photos, sometimes speaking with them over the phone before travelling by train to meet in person. She reportedly even met some of the girls’ parents while in character as ‘Jake.’
One of the victims said that her ‘heart exploded,’ in an impact statement which was read aloud to Winchester Crown Court.
“My world stopped, I actually stopped breathing… I loved him so much,” the victim wrote.
Watts previously pleaded guilty to seven charges of sexual assault and grooming of four girls between the ages of 14 and 15. However, she continued to groom young females whilst on police bail after her initial arrest and partial confession and was later placed under surveillance to prevent her from offending again while investigations were ongoing.
“The level of manipulation and deceit used by Watts to snare her victims in this case was truly shocking,” Police Constable Nicola Benson, from Hampshire Constabulary, said.
“Children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation online with increased use of social media apps, and there is a real risk that any contact with a stranger online can lead to a child meeting an offender in person,” she added.
On Friday, Watts was sentenced to eight years in prison, was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and was made subject to a life-long Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
British army cadet trainer who tricked teenage boys into performing sex acts online, given 4-year jail term
A military cadet trainer from Wales has been sent to prison for four years after being found guilty of duping around 40 teenage boys into sending indecent videos of themselves, posing as a 15 year-old girl.
Police traced videos posted on Tumblr to Hopes' IP address in June 2018. They found 50,000 indecent videos and images of children on a couple of electronic devices Hopes owned at the home he lived at with his parents.
The court heard how Hopes shared some of this content with other pedophiles online, with one file - named "For Baiting" - containing pictures and graphic videos of the girl he was posing as to trick the victims he had met in person and groomed on a number of social media sites. He also used those images to convince boys to film their sexual activities as they thought they were sending videos to a girl.
The Cadet Force, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, is one of the UK’s largest voluntary organizations for young people aged between 12 and 18.
In addition to his jail term, Hopes was banned from contacting any individual under 18 years of age for 10 years and will remain on the sex offenders' register for life.
Suffolk man jailed for 12 years for
the sexual assault of a child
A 61-year-old man has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment after being convicted of 11 charges for the sexual assault of a child.
Croft had been charged with 13 child sexual offences in total.
On 13 December 2019, Croft was found guilty by a jury of 11 out of 13 offences which included five offences of sexual activity with a child and six offences of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Croft was found not guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child. Another charge of sexual activity with a child was left on file.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Bev Culloden said: "These were horrific offences against a young vulnerable boy who was groomed and sexually assaulted by Croft.
"He abused his trust to carry out these multiple offences and no child should be subjected to such abuse.
"I would also like to pay tribute to the victim who had the courage to come forward and his family for their help in supporting the investigation and hope that the court result will bring some kind of closure and allow them to move forward positively in their lives.”
Cardiff Koran teacher who abused children
dies in prison
WALES NEWS SERVICE
Mohammed Haji Sadiq was found guilty in July 2017 of eight sexual assaults on a child by touching, and six indecent assaults.
Sadiq, of Cyncoed, Cardiff, died in Parc Prison, Bridgend on Wednesday. His funeral is being held on Friday at the Madina mosque, where he committed his offences as a volunteer teacher.
In a statement, the mosque said: "We wholeheartedly sympathise with the victims. The mosque is a place of worship for any Muslims. We sympathise with the victims and the bereaved family."
Sadiq was initially sent to prison for 13 years, but in December 2017 that sentence was reduced to nine years.
Appeal Court judges dismissed his appeal against conviction. They said they were in no doubt the jury's verdicts were safe, but decided the sentence was too high.
The court heard he abused four girls aged between five and 11 between 1996 and 2006 as a form of punishment.
He denied the charges and blamed "politics" in the mosque for the accusations.
He taught there from 1976, but had had no involvement in the mosque since 2006, when the Woodville Road building burnt down and was re-sited in Lucas Street.
Judge Stephen Hopkins told Sadiq he was a man "of some cunning" with a "dark and deviant side".
The court was told some victims said they were afraid to attend the mosque because of his abuse, and one tried to take her own life.
Others said they felt they could not tell anyone about the abuse because it was "not acceptable" in their culture to talk about what was happening.
Singaporean student charged for importing
child-like sex doll in Australia
Staff Writer, SingaporeYahoo News
SINGAPORE — A 26-year-old Singaporean student has been charged for importing a child-like sex doll in Australia following his arrest in Perth on Thursday (9 January).
The man has been granted conditional bail and is due to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on 17 January.
If convicted of importing child abuse material, he faces up to 10 years’ jail and/or a fine of up to AU$525,000 (S$487,000).
The Australian Border Force (ABF) said in a press release that investigations commenced against the man on Christmas Eve last year after ABF officers intercepted a parcel sent from China at a Perth air cargo depot.
The parcel was scanned and allegedly found to contain a a silicon female child-like sex doll.
The man was arrested after a Perth residence was searched.
Possessing child-like sex dolls was criminalised last year under Australian law after the Combatting Child Sexual Exploitation Legislation Amendment Act 2019 came into effect on 21 September. Those found guilty of possessing child-like sex dolls face up to 15 years’ jail.
The ABF’s Investigations Acting Commander Nicholas Walker said its officers were seizing increasing numbers of child-like sex dolls being imported through the international mail and air cargo streams.
“Child-like sex dolls are an emerging form of child abuse material that the ABF is determined to prevent from crossing our border,” said Acting Commander Walker in the release.
“Dolls that are manufactured for a sexual purpose that depict a child under the age of 18 are classified as ‘objectionable goods’ and are prohibited from being imported into Australia.
“Tackling child abuse material is an operational priority for the ABF as part of its role in protecting the border from individuals who may pose a threat to the community,” he added.
Appeal court upholds guilty verdict in Oulu,
Finland, child sex abuse case
..
The defendant's 40-month sentence was upheld, but the damages he was ordered to pay the victim were reduced
The defendant in Oulu District Court last summer. Image: Timo Nykyri / Yle
The Rovaniemi Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction by Oulu District Court of a 30-year-old man for the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl.
The court sentenced the defendant, Javad Mirzad, to three years and four months in prison after he was found guilty of aggravated child sexual abuse by the district court last summer.
The appeal court confirmed the man's guilty verdict on the charges brought against him. However, the court halved the amount of damages the defendant was ordered to pay the victim - down a total of 1,500 euros.
The appeal hearing was linked to a series of similar cases in which a 13-year-old girl was believed to have suffered abuse at the hands of eight foreign-background men between June and October of 2018.
The court found that the offences involving the defendant occurred at a private residence in the Oulu region August 2018 and that the victim and the defendant had been in contact via a messaging service.
All of the defendants involved had arrived in the country as asylum seekers or quota refugees.
Thursday's appeal hearing was the second case in which the district court decision was upheld. In December the appellate court upheld a three-year sentence imposed on Osman Humad last summer.
Helsinki teacher appeals suspended sentence
for child sexual abuse
YLE
A male teacher at a Helsinki school has appealed an 18-month suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of sexually abusing students in his charge. The appeal trial began in the Court of Appeal on Wednesday.
In December 2018, the 44-year-old mathematics teacher at a Swedish-language school in Helsinki was convicted and sentenced for the sexual abuse of nine children between 2013 and 2017. The court ruled that the teacher had sent messages with sexual images and texts to young boys and engaged in inappropriate physical contact with them.
The accused however denied having sexual intercourse with one of the students and claimed that the physical contact and massages were not sexual in nature.
The alleged abuser also denied sending pictures of his genitalia to a 15-year-old and claimed he was not aware that the student he was communicating with was under the age of 16.
Written warning in 2014
The court revealed that the teacher had received a written warning in 2014 for his improper conduct, however he continued to engage in inappropriate interaction with the students.
The teacher's ongoing improper conduct came to the school's attention in autumn 2016, and the institution filed a criminal complaint in early 2017.
The accused admitted to the district court that the descriptions of his behaviour were partially correct but argued that his actions did not meet the criteria for child sexual abuse.
Finland’s criminal code defines a child sexual abuser as someone who has interaction such as touching or engages in other sexual actions with a child under the age of 16. The acts must be damaging to the child’s development. A suspect may also be found guilty of the offence for causing a child to commit such acts.
The former headmaster of the school was also fined in February 2019 for not lawfully reporting the matter to the police, even though he was aware of the alleged sexual abuse. The verdict is not final yet and the court will hear the case against the principal early this year.
Most hotels in Chesterfield failed police test on awareness of child sexual exploitation
KEV ROGERSDerbyshire Times
Only two out of 18 hotels in Chesterfield responded correctly in a child sexual exploitation test say police.
Officers from Derbyshire Constabulary said they were “disappointed” with the results of the checks in hotels in the Chesterfield area on the warning signs of child sexual exploitation (CSE).
Eighteen hotels were visited during an operation in December to see if they would challenge people attempting to book rooms to carry out possible CSE offences.
But just two out of the 18 hotels followed the correct procedure and responded appropriately.
CSE is a form of child abuse in which victims are manipulated or forced into taking part in sexual activity, often in return for attention, affection, money, drugs, alcohol or accommodation. It can also involve violence, coercion and intimidation, with threats of physical harm or humiliation.
The force’s North Division Licensing Team set up the operation where plain-clothed officers and young police cadets visited the venues together and tried to book a room in the hope that reception staff would recognise the signs, refuse to rent out the room and contact the police.
Sgt. Mat Winterbottom, of the team, said: “Although the result was disappointing, we now have the opportunity to further improve education and training around what hotel staff should look out for, and hopefully give them the confidence to follow their instincts, challenge and report suspicions to the police.
“This operation was not about catching people out but to encourage awareness and help local venues to better learn how to protect and safeguard young people who may be vulnerable and at risk of child sexual exploitation.”
Derbyshire Police say future operations and checks are being planned in the area.
UK paedophile who collected half a million images
of child sex abuse avoids jail
Robert Swanepoel, 35, from Rodbourne Cheney, Swindon, had so many images that authorities only managed to categorise about 47,000 pictures and video clips, leaving a further 400,000.
He spent four and a half years trawling the internet for child sex abuse content, using search terms such as “young little girls”. He later described his actions as “like a drug addiction”.
Swanepoel was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years at Swindon Crown Court on Monday.
The court heard his collection was saved on a Toshiba laptop, an Acer computer, a Firestorm hard drive and a Kingston USB stick. Some files had been encrypted and the collection had been sorted into categories.
Swanepoel was caught by detectives in November 2018 with more than 21 hours' worth of abuse videos as well as the images.
He admitted making 34 category A indecent images of children - which includes images depicting rape - 126 still images and 45 videos in category B and 46,430 images and 168 movies in category C. He also had 34 prohibited images of children.
Emma Handslip, defending, told Swindon Crown Court her client had grown increasingly isolated –despite holding down a job at the same company for 15 years.
She said: "This is somebody who has had a very, very difficult and challenging life from a very young age. This is not an excuse for his behaviour but perhaps an explanation to the court about why he’s become isolated."
Robert Swanepoel was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court, Wiltshire (PA)
She added that Swanepoel had confessed at the earliest opportunity during his interview with detectives.
Ms Handslip pointed to the conclusions of a pre-sentence report compiled by the probation service, saying there was a realistic likelihood Swanepoel could be rehabilitated and kept out of prison.
Judge Jason Taylor QC said: "There were a further 400,000 images and videos that were not reviewed given the sheer number. But the aggravating features involved in the case was that you had made searches, there were multiple victims, some of a very young age, your offending lasted over a four and a half year period and you had even taken the time to categorise the images some in encrypted folders."
Swanepoel must complete 40 rehabilitation activity sessions and abide by a six-month curfew.
He was made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will need to sign on to the sex offenders’ register for a decade.
Child sex abuse cases up by 38% in Perlis State, Malaysia, last year, says state police chief
Nevertheless, Malaysia is making very good progress
in the war on child sexual abuse
KANGAR (Bernama): The number of cases involving paedophilia in Perlis rose by 38% in 2019 compared to the previous year, according to state police chief Datuk Surina Saad.
She attributed the increase to the existence of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and higher awareness of paedophilia among the public.
"The Act has helped the police to haul more child sex offenders before the court," she told Bernama, adding that the legislation has also facilitated the prosecution process as only the victim's statement, witness' evidence and video support are needed.
"In addition, evidence or description of the incident can be given in camera or via video recording as most of the victims would be too traumatised to speak about it."
According to Surina, since the implementation of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act two years ago, more people were coming forward to report cases involving paedophilia. This, she said, was a good thing because keeping such incidents under wraps would only encourage the perpetrators to continue sexually assaulting children.
She added that it was difficult for the public to identify paedophiles because outwardly they appear normal although they do have the tendency to be loners.
In May 2019, the 28-year-old warden of a religious school hostel in Perlis was sentenced to a total of 228 years in jail and 42 strokes of the rotan after he pleaded guilty to 27 counts of sodomy and sexual assault against five students aged between nine and 15.
The accused had stored numerous sex videos of his victims and had threatened to harm them if they exposed him to the authorities.
Counselling
According to media reports quoting statistics by the Women, Family and Development Ministry, 22,134 children were sexually abused from 2010 to May 2016, with more than 50% of them raped.
One of the most high-profile cases of paedophilia involved Briton Richard Huckle who was found to have sexually abused about 200 children, most of them in Malaysia, between 2006 and 2014.
In 2016, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the criminal court in London.
However, on Oct 13,2019, Huckle - described as Britain's worst paedophile - was found dead in prison. UK media reports said he was found stabbed multiple times in his cell near York, north of England.
Surina, meanwhile, said the police's Sexual, Women and Children's Investigations Division (D11) has its own psychologists who provide counselling to the victims so that they are able to relate to the police what they had experienced.
She said efforts taken by D11 to prevent sexual crimes include giving talks to the public, especially parents, to educate them on paedophilia.
"By educating them, we hope they will not hide any incidents related to this crime. Action can be taken against them for concealing such a crime," she added.
Psychological disorder
Dean of Universiti Malaysia Perlis' School of Human Development and Technocommunication Associate Prof Dr Huzili Hussin, meanwhile, described paedophilia as a psychological disorder that causes abnormal sexual behaviour.
Individuals with this problem are sexually attracted to children.
"Some of them use photographs of children as objects to satisfy their wild fantasies," he said, adding that the victims comprise both girls and boys and are mostly aged 13 and below while the predators are five to 16 years older than them.
Huzili, who is also a psychologist and motivational expert, said individuals suffering from anxiety disorder and depression, as well as drug addicts, may be prone to developing paedophiliac tendencies.
3-5% of male Americans potential pedophiles
That equates to 4-5 million men
Citing studies carried out by psychologists in the US, he said three to five percent of its male population and less than three percent of its female population are potentially influenced by paedophilia.
"Just imagine out of 100 males, three to five have leanings towards this form of unnatural sex. It is a big number and worrying. We cannot regard this issue as trivial," he told Bernama.
20% of American children victimized by pedophiles
The studies by US psychologists, added Huzili, also found that 20% of children in that country have been victims of paedophilia and that many of the perpetrators themselves have been sexually abused or been victims of paedophiles when they were young.
Preventive measures
To prevent their children from falling victim to sexual predators, Huzili said parents should teach them the YRT (yell, run & tell) technique as is the practice in western countries.
"The YRT technique teaches children to shout when they are approached by an individual who wants to take advantage of them. They are then required to run to a safe place, for example, towards their parents and tell them what had happened," he said.
He also said that the authorities should provide support services to victims to enable them to overcome their trauma, as well as monitor and rehabilitate paedophiles.
"Although we already have a law (Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017) to penalise such offenders, we don't have any long-term rehabilitation programme because it involves costs and is time-consuming," he said.
He added that the authorities can also identify potential paedophiles by monitoring their social media usage to check if they have the tendency to share photographs of children undressed.
Crime analyst Kamal Affandi Hashim urged parents to stop the practice of posting photographs of their children playing, bathing or in other poses on social media platforms such as Facebook as the pictures can be used by paedophiles to satisfy their lust.
Kamal Affandi, who is also vice-chairman of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation, also called for efforts to provide protection and support services to victims of paedophiles because so far no effort has been made to take care of their welfare. - Bernama
Perlis is the smallest and most northern state in Malaysia, bordering Thailand
Canvey Is, UK, man jailed for litany of child sex offences
Mick Ferris, Yellow Ad
A man has been jailed for sexual offences against children.
Dean Hilton, 46, from Canvey Island pleaded guilty to 24 offences at Basildon Crown Court today, Friday January 10.
Three counts of rape of a child under 13;
Five counts of sexual assault by penetration of a child under 13;
One count of assault by penetration;
Eleven counts of sexual assault of a child under 13;
Four counts of sexual assault
The offences took place over an eight-year period, from June 2011 to September 2019.
He was sentenced to 18 years and eight 8 months imprisonment and five years on extended license.
Hilton will have to serve two thirds of his sentence before being considered for release and will be put on the sex offenders register for life. He has also been issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Passing sentence, the judge deemed Hilton to be a dangerous individual.
Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Louise Poole, said: “I want to take the time to praise the courage of the victims in coming forward to report these vile offences.
“I hope that this will offer them some reassurance as to how seriously the police and criminal justice system take these offences. Hopefully, this sentence encourages other victims to come forward and feel able to report any abuse they may be suffering, or may have suffered.”
Victims to sue over abuse at Sailors' Society home in Argyll, Scotland
Dozens of people have told BBC Scotland they were abused at the home
Former residents of a children's home in Argyll are suing the charity which ran it over claims of physical and sexual abuse.
In 2018 more than a dozen people who lived at Lagarie in Rhu told the BBC's Disclosure programme they had suffered repeated abuse.
Lawyers acting for the alleged victims are taking legal action against the Sailors' Society in two test cases.
The charity said it had previously apologised unreservedly for any abuse.
Between 1949 and 1982, hundreds of children were sent to live at Lagarie. The home was managed by the Sailors' Society, a Christian charity supporting the families of men working at sea.
He said: "Unless you've lived it, you can't experience it, you can't try to fathom what went on in that place."
Stuart Rivers, the then chief executive of the Southampton-based charity, was interviewed for the programme and apologised for any abuse that happened.
Speaking in 2018, Mr Rivers, who resigned in May last year, said: "I was horrified when I heard these accounts. We do regret any abuse happened and we have apologised unreservedly that this abuse happened."
He added that he could not change the past but he could make sure the charity did "things right now."
But lawyers acting for some of the former residents say the Sailors' Society has failed to make good on those words. They are now taking two test cases to court.
Matron Anne Millar pictured with with Roddy Austin
"We now see just how hollow those words are. What they are doing is forcing every single survivor to give their evidence in court. It's demeaning, it's insulting and it's denigrating to those people who they abused in the first place."
He said it was more than a year since the BBC documentary but the solicitors for the Sailors' Society had failed to engage in any meaningful correspondence on the matter. "They have not admitted liability and they have not indicated any willingness to engage in any discussions with us," he said.
Roddy Austin is not one of the test cases but hopes the Sailors' Society will now "stand up and take responsibility. Even though they promised 'we will make things right', they haven't," he says. "They need to make it right for us instead of sitting on their back ends thinking it'll go away."
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Sailors' Society said: "We deeply regret that any child was abused at Lagarie and we have apologised unreservedly for any abuse that was suffered by children who were in the care of the British Sailors' Society (Scotland) at that time.
"The current Sailors' Society is a very different organisation. In recent years we have worked hard to respond as fully as we can. We have met with survivors, kept up contact with survivors who have wanted contact with us, financed counselling, asked police to reopen their investigations and fully cooperated with the police and the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.
"We cannot comment further given the sensitivities of the matter and the fact that this is the subject of legal action."
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