Justice for Shefford Boys: Scout Master Jailed for Campaign of Abuse at Orphanage "from Hell"
Bedfordshire on Sunday
The cruelty was said to be orchestrated by Father John Ryan, who died in 2008, and prosecutor Matthew Walsh said there was a culture of ill-treatment in the home run by 'nuns and priests from hell'. Savile was a regular visitor to the area and is believed to have attended the chapel at the home. The Old Bailey heard Ryan and several nuns would have been prosecuted if they were still alive today. The Catholic Church has paid out compensation to two victims and more are pursuing civil claims in a class action. But Cahill, of Chandos Court, Bedford, was the only person to be jailed for any criminal offences at St Francis after pleading guilty to six counts of indecent assault at the Old Bailey. The charges relate to the sexual abuse of four young boys between 1965 and 1967. He targeted 'lonely and frightened' youngsters with no family to turn to who looked to staff in the Roman Catholic Northampton Diocese-run institution for protection.
McCann, of Suffield Court, Swaffham, Norfolk, faced charges of 34 counts of ABH, 14 counts of indecency with a male person and four counts of indecency with a child. But he suffered a stroke and was deemed unfit to stand trial. The court heard he no longer recognised his daughter, and would be requiring 24 hour care. His alleged victims gave evidence at a trial of the facts where they told of his trademark punishment, dubbed 'the clappers'. A jury of three men and nine women found McCann responsible for 42 charges of physical and sexual assaults against residents today. He was found to have committed 30 counts of ABH, nine indecent assaults on a male person, and three of indecency with a child. McCann was cleared of four counts of ABH and four of indecency with a male person. Judge Rebecca Poulet QC told the jury that while the facts were proven she had to take into account McCann's poor health. Handing McCann an absolute discharge, she explained: "These are not convictions. He was found unfit for this trial. "Mr McCann suffers from Alzheimer's and also suffered a stroke shortly before trial. "The defendant systematically struck these young vulnerable boys. This involved very powerful clapping over the boys ears. "For a number of them it has resulted in early and permanent hearing loss. Five of the male complained they were forced into indecency. "I have only one course of action available to me and that is an absolute discharge." The court heard how McCann had tortured some of the lads by clapping his hands over their ears, causing excruciating pain and nausea. Prosecutor John Price QC said: "The defendant would routinely and seemingly at his whim, assault children by 'clapping' the flat of his hands simultaneously over each of their ears. "Usually they would be required by him to stand still, hands down by their sides whilst he stood behind them, out of their sight – the child made to wait for the agony they knew was coming." McCann joined the home, where he had his own room, at the age of 29 in 1965 and worked there until it closed in 1974. A former resident, now in his sixties, told jurors: "He was an evil man. He used to kick me, punch me, smack me, do what he likes. "Today, anybody like him wouldn't be allowed to look after children. He was an evil man, an evil person." Other victims told how they would be sexually assaulted by McCann. On April 15, Cahill was sentenced to three-and-a-half years imprisonment by Judge Peter Rook QC for charges relating to the sexual abuse of four young boys between 1965 and 1967. John Cahill The judge told him: "What you did was a massive breach of trust. You have blighted the lives of all four of your victims. "It is clear that you deliberately targeted boys who you knew had no family support and were vulnerable. "You targeted them for your own sexual gratification. Your four victims are now in their 60s and it is apparent they are deeply affected by their experiences and have been throughout their lives. "The boys at that home were vulnerable. They relied almost exclusively on the care of those in the home who were entrusted to safeguard their wellbeing. "It appears there may have been a culture of ill-treatment and the boys were lonely and frightened at the home. The boys who were resident were treated more harshly than the non-residents. "Your victims were treated with a lack of care, love or respect." The court heard how pervert Cahill was in his early 20s when he targeted the first victim after he was brought to the home aged 11. He groomed his young victim by letting him drive the scout van before taking advantage of him in a storeroom. The second lad was between the ages of 13 and 15 when Cahill struck in the scout hut before following him into a toilet cubicle a few days later. A third 'particularly vulnerable' boy, who had been in care since he was two years old, was between 10 and 13 years old when he was attacked by Cahill. Cahill opened the door of a moving van as it sped along the motorway to terrify another resident, aged between 10 and 13, during a visit to a monastery in Bury St Edmunds. He then took advantage of his fear to sexually abuse him. "His general approach is that he would initially appear nice and very friendly towards them but later took advantage of the situations were he would find himself alone with them," said the prosecutor. Two of his victims took to the witness stand in court to tell of the abuse suffered at Cahill's hands. One said he could not swear on the Bible before tearfully remembering how his happy childhood memories stopped the moment he moved to St Francis. "Every time I think back to the home I can smell his rancid breath all over me," he said. "I was taken advantage of by men who knew I was alone and vulnerable. "I was just a young boy, my life ruined." Another victim, who had been in care since the age of two, said St Francis was the worst home he had been to. "I never felt so alone and confused. It was a brutal regime and I never knew what was going to happen to me from one day to the next," he said. "I have a life-long hatred of this man and I don't want him to think he's got away with it. "I want him to suffer the consequences and get his comeuppance for what he did to me and the other lads." The court heard Norwich County Council were alerted to the abuse by a relative of one victim while another boy was asked to explain to staff what had happened to him but he heard nothing else about it. Cahill went on to carry out a string of other sex attacks on two victims, one of them just seven years old, in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. He was jailed for five years, with a three year extension, in May 2005 after pleading guilty to 20 offences at Hull Crown Court. "It is clear to me your offending has taken place over decades. The offending for which you appear to this court relates to the first period of your offending," said Judge Rook. "The victims were entrusted to your care so this was a gross breach of trust. "It is quite clear there was long-lasting and severe psychological harm to each victim. "They were particularly vulnerable because of their circumstances. They looked to people like you to look after them and protect them because they didn't didn't have the usual family support. "Rather than protect them, you targeted them."
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