Care home boss sexually abused children for decades

A former children's home manager and his assistant sexually abused children in their care for decades.

Malcolm Phillips, 93, carried out the abuse against four girls and two boys at Skircoat Lodge in Halifax between 1976 and 1994, a jury has found.

He was deemed unfit to stand trial and a trial of facts was held at Bradford Crown Court on charges of rape, indecent assault and indecency with a child.

Linda Brunning, 66, was found guilty of indecent assault against one boy and helping Phillips abuse another boy in the 1980s and 1990s. Brunning, who burst out crying as she was told she faced a "substantial" jail term, is due to be sentenced in April.

Phillips, now living in Birmingham, had been in charge of the children's home since it opened in 1976 and his trial heard that "he let no-one challenge his authority".

He lived at Skircoat Lodge and had "unfettered access" to all areas, including the children's bedrooms.

The jury was told that during the course of almost two decades, Phillips used his power to "isolate specific children to use for his sexual gratification".

The court heard children were chosen carefully as targets and were deprived of food and pocket money and threatened that visits from family would be taken away.

Youngsters would often run away after being sexually abused but were taken straight back to the home by police and accused of being troublemakers.

Former care worker Brunning was described as a "large, domineering woman who took pleasure in physically hurting and humiliating children".

The jury agreed that Brunning indecently assaulted a boy and also "facilitated the abuse by Malcolm Phillips upon a small, defenceless child".

The youngest victim was between nine and 13 years old when he was sexually assaulted by Phillips, with Brunning assisting the abuse by restraining the child.

The prosecution said the boy missed his mother and Brunning had exploited this weakness by telling the child that his mother did not love him.

Kelly Lees, who has waived her lifelong right to anonymity, was sexually abused by Phillips in the 1990s, after being told to do her homework in his office.

She began skipping school, hoping it would stop if she did not have any homework.

"I was a good child and I loved school but if you were well-behaved there, the more targeted you were," she said.

"If you started running off or skiving school or shoplifting, they were scared of us being picked up by the police and opening our mouths."

Chris Wild was sent to Skircoat Lodge aged 11 in the 1990s after his father died.

He was not a victim of sexual abuse, but described Skircoat as a "house of horrors" and has campaigned for further investigation.

"I had many friends in there who are not here anymore because they took their own lives," he said.

"There are young people whose lives were destroyed, adults who are suffering with mental health issues and there's never been a public apology."

Phillips, who turned 93 during the trial, was previously convicted in 2001 of indecently assaulting eight girls at Skircoat Lodge in the 1970s and 80s and was sentenced to seven years in jail.

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The NSPCC investigated allegations of abuse at Skircoat Lodge in 1994 and found that excessive force was being used and children were being deprived of food and sleep.

Following the jury's verdicts, an NSPCC spokesperson said Phillips and Brunning had run an "appalling campaign of abuse against children in their care, many of whom had suffered previous trauma".

It said: "The pair worked together to exploit these vulnerable young people and protect each other from police suspicion for almost two decades.

"While Phillips targeted specific children and led the abuse, Brunning's complicity helped silence victims and ensure any young person who tried to seek help was not believed, meaning their crimes went undetected for many years."

Following the verdicts, Det Ch Insp Claire Smith, the senior investigating officer, said the victims had "endured abhorrent abuse at the hands of people entrusted and paid to care for them, in a place they should have been safe".

"As children, they were made to feel powerless, told that no-one would believed them and that speaking up would put them in danger. After years of carrying that fear, their voices have finally been heard," she said.

Smith said the force accepted "opportunities have been missed in the past to protect victims of child sexual exploitation and abuse, but have taken this learning and used it to develop strong partnerships and better working practices with other agencies".

She added that she wanted to "thank the victim-survivors for the tremendous bravery they have shown in coming forward and sharing their experiences with the police, leading to this conviction".

A Calderdale Council spokesperson apologised for the "horrific" abuse to which Phillips' and Brunning's victims had been subjected.

"Calderdale Council is deeply sorry for the harm and suffering caused by these individuals, and for the devastating impact this abuse has had on the lives of their victims," they said.

The spokesperson added that the authority's safeguarding practices had since "changed beyond recognition".

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