– More than 20 private schools investigated over sexual abuse: Savile scandal prompts dozens of former pupils to come forward (Daily Mail Jan 13, 2014):
- Some of country’s most expensive schools are facing legal action
- Compensation claims of up to £400,000 could close schools say experts
- Boris Johnson’s former school among those accused of abuse
- In December the Mail on Sunday revealed Ashdown House faced action
More than 20 private schools are involved in child sex abuse investigations after dozens of victims came forward in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Some of the country’s leading institutions, including those attended by Nick Clegg, Boris Johnson and Tony Blair, face accusations of covering up abuse for decades. The allegations include rape.
Lawyers acting for the alleged victims are demanding up to £400,000 in compensation for the years of abuse they suffered.
Those seeking redress include former pupils at Beeston Hall, a £21,000-a-year prep school in Norfolk. Mervyn Rush, 68, who taught science at the school in the 1970s, was jailed for 14 years in August last year after pleading guilty to 18 charges of sexual abuse against ten boys aged between eight and 12.
Victims were emboldened to come forward following the Savile scandal, according to one lawyer.
Jessica Standley, of law firm Slater and Gordon, said: ‘There has been an increase in victims reporting abuse suffered at a variety of institutions, including fee-paying schools. Sadly, in many of these cases those in positions of authority knew of the abuse and failed to take adequate steps to protect innocent children.’With compensation claims of up to £400,000 per victim, the financial repercussions of these historical cases could cause the closure of some prep schools, claims Tony Little, head of Eton College. It is possible [some will have to close] but it is absolutely right this problem is exposed,’ he said.
Some 20 former pupils of Ashdown House in East Sussex, which was attended by Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Homeland actor Damian Lewis, claim that staff committed ‘very serious abuse’ on children aged between seven and 13 during the 1970s. The £23,000-a-year boarding school is a feeder school for Eton and Harrow.Victims at Mr Clegg’s old prep school, £22,000-a-year Caldicott, in Farnham Royal, Buckinghamshire, are also suing for damages.
Peter Wright, who was Mr Clegg’s headmaster, is awaiting sentence after being found guilty last month of a series of sex offences. The Chorister School in Durham, the £18,000-a-year prep school attended by Mr Blair, recently settled a series of sex abuse claims.
Police investigated allegations by 23 former pupils that they had been sexually abused by Canon John Grove, who was headmaster from 1957 to 1978.
But the investigation ended without any criminal charges as Canon Grove died in 2001 and police found no evidence against anyone still alive.Many victims say they simply want justice after years of staying silent. One, a 60-year-old man who attended Chorister, said: ‘All I really wanted was an apology from the school and the church.
‘The Savile disgrace has made it easier for victims to come forward.’
Beeston Hall has confirmed that its lawyers are handling claims for damages.
No one at Ashdown House, Chorister or Caldicott was available for comment yesterday.
For the British empire, this is old news. I know a number of men who attended some of the best schools in the UK….sexual abuse was common.
I also knew quite a few who went to Catholic schools here in the US. They would warn each other, stay away from Fr. So and So……..don’t go to his rooms with him, and so on. One old friend of mine had received boxing training at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. One day, a priest tried to molest him.
My friend spun around, in full boxing stance, and told the priest to cut it out.
“You misunderstand me” the priest protested.
“If I ever misunderstand you again, you’ll be eating soft food for a month.” was my friend’s retort.
That was the end of it. No priest ever tried to accost him again……ever.
Now, it is all about lawsuits, getting free money from the schools thanks to a few bad apples. Schools would be wise to fire an instructor the first time anyone complained.
This sort of junk has to stop, or we will have no decent schools left.
My old high school was for girls, and we were taught by nuns. I never had any problem with abuse. It was a beautiful boarding school, we had horses, Olympic sized heated pool, lots of land, and it was a beautiful place to go to school. The education standards were high, and anyone leaving that school got into the university of our choice. We had pupils from around the world, it was a liberal and nourishing environment. We had chapel, but attendance was optional. It was a nice place and time, very different from today.
Then, the Catholic church began to be hit with lawsuits. It had nothing to do with our school, but it finally got so bad, my old high school had to close it’s doors after 140 years.
The lawsuits are eating everything. The victims probably don’t get much, I bet it is for the lawyers and their fees.
The world seems to be borrowing the worst qualities of the US…..endless lawsuits are what helped to destroy the British Empire, and are doing the same here.
On another topic, I have been wondering what happened to Glenn Greenwold of the Guardian…..the man of NSA fame.
This webcast is worth hearing, looks like he sold out for $250 million………..
http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/the-surveillance-state/greenwalds-big-mysterious-paypal-payday.html