Care worker who helped boss with child abuse jailed for 25 years
Emma Glasbey,Yorkshire home and social affairs correspondent, Bradford Crown Courtand
Julia Bryson,Yorkshire
A former children’s home manager and “master manipulator” who abused youngsters in his care has been told he will not go to prison – as his female assistant was jailed for 25 years for helping his attacks.
Malcolm Phillips, 93, “cultivated a culture of fear” at Skircoat Lodge in Halifax, committing sexual and physical offences against four girls and two boys between 1976 and 1994.
Phillips, who was deemed unfit to face a criminal trial, was given an absolute discharge by the judge at Bradford Crown Court, who said she was “bound by the statutory framework”.
Linda Brunning, 67, was found guilty of indecently assaulting a boy and helping Phillips sexually abuse another boy in the 1980s and 90s.
Phillips had faced charges of rape, indecent assault and indecency with a child, but was deemed unfit to face a criminal trial so faced what is known as a trial of facts.
Unlike a normal case, in a trial of facts a jury cannot find the person guilty – instead it determines if they committed the alleged offences. Although they cannot be convicted, they can be acquitted.
The trial concluded in January and a jury found Philips, now living in Birmingham, had carried out the offences.
He watched the hearing earlier on video link from his home. As well as an absolute discharge, he was also given a sexual harm prevention order.
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Summing up, Judge Kirstie Watson told Phillips that together with Brunning, he committed “vile abuse” against children.
She called him a “master manipulator” who “set the tone” at the home.
“You were the dominant force and cultivated a culture of fear among the young and extremely vulnerable children in your care,” she said.
During the trial, the jury was told Phillips – who had been in charge of Skircoat Lodge when it opened in 1976 – “used his power over two decades to isolate children for his sexual gratification”.
Brunning, of Sowerby Bridge, Calderdale, worked as his assistant and was described as “a large, domineering woman who took pleasure in humiliating and hurting children”.
She denied all the charges against her but her defence counsel said she now “respects those verdicts”.
Kitty Colley, representing Brunning, had told the hearing her client was of “good character”.
She told the court Brunning went on to work with vulnerable adults after she was taken out of Skircoat Lodge in 1994 when Phillips was investigated, with no complaints about her behaviour in that role.
Two “thorough” investigations after then produced no prosecutions, she added.
In 2001, Phillips had been convicted of abusing eight girls at Skircoat Lodge in the 1970s and 80s and was sentenced to seven years in jail.
The home was for children aged four to 16 who were the subject of care orders and placed there for their own safety.
During the latest trial, the jury heard how children at the home were deprived of food and sleep, threatened that they would lose family visits and told nobody cared about them and no-one would believe them.
Victims described running away after being abused but then being taken straight back to the children’s home by police and accused of being liars and troublemakers.
Three of the victims who waived their right to anonymity were present at the sentencing earlier. They were Kelly Lees, Karen Bentham and Angela Radford.
Kelly Lees was sexually abused by Phillips when she lived in the home from aged 11 in the 1990s.
She told the BBC she was “furious” that Phillips would not face prison after being deemed unfit for trial.
“I was a child and vulnerable. He abused so many on a daily basis.
“I feel sad that I’ve had to fight for so many years, I feel sad that I was isolated and I’m angry because I haven’t had a proper childhood, of course I’m angry.”
Kelly said she was targeted by Phillips, who described her as his “special girl” and abused her several times after telling her to do her homework in his office.
She started skipping school and running away, hoping the abuse would stop if she was not given any homework but would be quickly returned to Phillips by police.
Kelly spoke of struggling with survivor’s guilt following her abuse.
“We couldn’t have done more, we were children but that still comes.
“The only people who should be feeling guilty are Phillips, Brunning, social services who were around and the staff members and every other professional who knew.”
Karen Bentham was sexually abused by Phillips as a 14-year-old in the 1990s.
She described being frustrated that Phillips did not have to attend court for the trial of facts and hear the evidence of his victims.
“It’s disappointing because he’s never been forced to take accountability for what he’s done,” she explained.
“He’s never had to sit in the courtroom throughout the trial and listen to the damage that he’s done to children.”
Karen said the verdicts had finally brought her some relief after 30 years of living with the trauma of the abuse.
“As a child, you learn that silence is the best so you carry that and then it becomes shameful,” she said.
“It’s been with me all my life but now I do feel like I can breathe.
“I feel free, I feel at peace and that is because I was believed and I was heard and I managed to tell my story.”
Both women have urged other victims of abuse of Skircoat Lodge to speak to police about what happened to them.
“The survivors who have just gone through the same trial as myself; I hope that is a beacon of light for others,” Karen said.
“You don’t need to be silent anymore and you don’t need to be that scared child anymore.
“Come forward, use your voice and tell your story because it needs telling and it deserves to be told.”
Speaking after sentencing, Det Ch Insp Claire Smith of West Yorkshire Police said: “Today’s outcome cannot undo the harm suffered by those children at Skircoat Lodge, but it does represent long overdue accountability.
“The bravery shown by the survivors in coming forward after so many years has been extraordinary, and we hope this brings some measure of acknowledgement and closure.
“We would encourage anyone who has suffered child abuse and exploitation to come forward and report it to us.
“No matter the length of time passed, you will be listened to and believed. There are also support services out there, that are on hand to support you when you are ready, if you don’t wish to contact police straight away.”