Did anybody watch 24 Hours in Police Custody tonight? It was about a case of historic sex abuse. A 76-year-old was arrested for abusing a boy in the 1970s. They interviewed him and he denied it. The man had been an engineer, had two children, and had been with his wife for 50+ years. She was hysterical and vehemently denied he could have done such a thing. The police officer said that since the Saville scandal the number of people coming forward with allegations of historic abuse has exploded. I think she said it has more than trebled.
I have known at least five or six women in my life who were abused as children. None of them ever went to the police. I think that’s why I’m sat here boiling with anger. One told me her mother had numerous boyfriends when my friend was a teenager (in the 1980s) and that only one - only one! - didn’t sexually abuse her/make advances. She said bitterly (and this really sticks in my mind) “I always had a different stepdad coming in to kiss me goodnight.” Another was abused by her stepgrandad. She told me he would abuse her while her mum and her gran were in the kitchen! So many of these bastards get away with it. The refusal of this man to admit what he did really pissed me off. I often look at old men and wonder what they did when they were young. I have a nasty feeling the sexual abuse of children was very common until quite recently. I’d especially like to see a major investigation into the sexual abuse that occurred in children’s homes - as far back as there are living witnesses.