BishopAccountability.org

Ex-headteacher gets 18 years for sexual abuse of boys

By Pete Magill
Thisis Lancashire
February 12, 2017

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/15085885.Ex_headteacher__gets_18_years_for_sexual_abuse_of_boys/

Leeds Crown Court

A FORMER headmaster from Burnley, convicted of sexually abusing boys at a residential school in Yorkshire, has been jailed for 18 years.

Roy Leonard Allen, 72, is beginning the prison term after vulnerable youngsters at Thorp Arch Grange, near Wetherby, were targeted in the 70s and 80s.

Allen, now of Moseley Road, was convicted of nine charges of indecent assault, two serious sexual assaults and one attempted serious sexual assault after a trial at Leeds Crown Court. He was cleared of two further indecent assaults.

Prosecutors told jurors Allen was director of education and later headmaster at Thorp Arch, where there was a culture of bullying so young boys, many who had ended up there through court or care proceedings.

Roy Lovatt, 71, from Redcar, a housemaster at Thorp Grange, was convicted of four indecent assaults and five serious sexual assaults at the trial. He had confessed earlier to 23 indecent assault offences and two gross indecency charges.

He went on to become an ordained Catholic priest and was jailed for 28 years by Judge Neil Clark.

Speaking after the case, Det Supt Jon Morgan, said: "These men had responsibility for the welfare and safety of vulnerable children in their care but instead chose to abuse their positions of trust for their own sexual gratification.

"The long-term traumatic effect that their actions have had on the victims from such an early stage in their lives should never be underestimated.

"We hope that seeing these men finally brought to justice will provide some degree of reassurance to the victims.

"We also hope this case will highlight how the passage of time is no barrier to justice, and it should not deter victims from coming forward and reporting offences.

Caroline May, of chief prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "These vulnerable young boys were in need of compassion, care and support.

"But Thorpe Arch Grange was not a place of safety for them.

"While some members of staff were undoubtedly dedicated to their work, others were sexual predators who used violence and fear as a means of control over the boys.

"They abused their own positions of authority and responsibility to sexually assault, and in the most extreme instances, to rape, the children in their care. "Far from being caring professionals, these two men were cynical sex offenders.

"Attitudes were very different in the 70s and 80s and these defendants deliberately sought out contact with vulnerable children, relying on the fact that they, as adults, would be believed should the children ever complain. It is hard to imagine a greater abuse of trust.

"Despite the traumatic abuse they endured at Thorp Arch Grange, the victims have demonstrated considerable bravery in coming forward and giving evidence in this case, enabling us to work with police to bring a strong prosecution case against their abusers."




.


Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.