Queen Ethelburga school and sex abuse

[BatmansBat]

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/owner-of-york-boarding-school-queen-ethelburgas-jailed-for-historical-sexual-abuse-of-pupils-3295138%3famp

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9754347/amp/Millionaire-businessman-bought-37-000-year-boarding-school-abuse-pupils-jailed.html

Ok, so I am really cross that the previous thread got deleted. It had a lot of helpful links. This concerns child abuse and safeguarding and I am still aghast that this can happen.

A predatory male buys a boarding school (allegedly through various holding companies)

he installs somewhere between 500 and 700 cameras around the building, including in areas where children get changed

he abuses children

his lawyer threatens to sue MN when women tried to discuss anything negative about the school

He got appointed to Chairman of the Governors which meant that he could help write the safeguarding policies.

He managed to get off from charges the first time

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-44785825.amp

How can this be allowed to happen? As parents we need to know that our children are safe. I think this should be used as an example of how important all safeguarding principles are!

OP. Thank you. I wonder if they were proud of their professional actions?

This is such a horrific case and it really highlights why safeguarding needs to be done in teams (ie. have a reporting process and multiple people dealing with it) , and to be applied to everyone equally. It should never matter if it is school owner, or the janitor.

And why proper safeguarding means that you look at the worst case scenario and work to prevent that.

[quote SpaceRaiders]**@BatmansBat* I was really referring to OhHolyJesus* and her post on Nassir.

I just can’t for the life of me comprehend how a child can be abused in the manner that has been described. And what spinal exam takes place internally? Perhaps I’m just very cynical hence why I would question absolutely everything.[/quote]
I've read there is chiro and physio treatment that takes place internally, for issues with the coccyx and pelvis. Specialist women's health physio's May offer it.

Holy shit. I hadn't heard this story at all. Why was the other thread deleted?

For anyone who has ever said "Men would never go to such lengths to abuse women/children"

Yes they fucking would.

There is no length to which they won't go; no depth to which they won't sink.

I've read there is chiro and physio treatment that takes place internally, for issues with the coccyx and pelvis. Specialist women's health physio's May offer it.

Thanks for clarifying but it sounds even worse. If this was known, why wasn’t a woman employed specifically for this role? Or at least the girls given the choice to go to a specialist clinic. It’s absolutely despicable, I’m livid on their behalf.

Horrific stories and very worrying that yet again safeguarding has been allowed to slide resulting in harm to multiple children
I’m glad this has been moved to AIBU, this needs to widest possible audience

As others have already said safeguarding needs to be top priority for any service involving children or vulnerable adults and no one should be immune from this. Look what happened in the Catholic Church over many years when a ‘sacred caste’ above suspicion was created 😢

Because only the most rigorous safeguarding policies will protect children from predators who are willing to do anything for their sexual gratification.

I agree with this.

This is such an awful revelation. The length vile men will go to is obscene.

I’m glad to see you’ve had the thread moved. Safeguarding should be in a talk area to ensure maximum exposure to all users. I started an AIBU thread a couple of days ago about safeguarding threads being relegated to sex and gender debate.

It's the whole silencing which is horrendous - powerful, rich men silencing their victims.

Truly truly awful and I hope the victims get all the help they need now they can speak out.

Hope he rots in hell.

I didn't realise three different men at QE had now been charged. Three!

I remember the repeated legal threats to MN and mumsnetters trying to discuss this school. I think someone making legal threats to silence others should be seen as a safeguarding red flag in future after this.

Am so sorry for all the pupils - even for those not directly harmed there will be pyschic damage from knowing your entire schooling was designed around someone’s sexual abuse desires.

My DB went to Ampleforth and I remember my mother being enthralled by the posh monks. She then taught there for a while as a p/t teacher and the stories she told me disgust me. The culture of the time was very accepting but I can’t forgive her for tolerating what she heard.

Another school is Nevill Holt in Leicestershire which has thankfully closed. If you Google it, prepare to weep.

My DCs school was one of those targeted by Ethelburga’s in an attempt to dissuade prospective parents to send their children there, but to send them to QE instead. We all knew that QE was the top of their own made-up league tables. I remember receiving a letter with the statement that the school (QE) would provide fee legal cover for students after they’d left, no matter what trouble they’d been in.

Beyond dodgy.

I feel sorry for the children but relieved that finally this has come out into the open.

My sister went to QE in the mid 90s. When I sent her the link to the story about Martin being convicted she said that everyone knew he was a total creep, and that he was forever asking if anyone would like to go and see his new puppy 🤢

Oldest paedo trick in the book yet he got away with it for so long.

I was supposed to go for 6th form but I was a belligerent teenager and refused - lucky escape I think.

@SpaceRaiders

I recall seeing a documentary which was very similar in that the parents become so enamoured by this powerful, famous person that the appropriate questions to safeguard the child aren’t raised.

This was my exact response when watching an HBO documentary which looked into the relationship of the parents with a famous person and how various degrees of separation were created, as a way of showing favour to the child, to the point where the mother wasn't sleeping on the same floor as her child in the accommodation provided.

The child was believed to be some kind of 'chosen' one and a friend of the famous person and this was 'sold' to the parents as being a good thing.

I only know about this school from MN and all the deletions, it always looked dodgy but this goes far beyond that, it's horrific.

Why did so many threads and posts get deleted?

space Nassir basically groomed everyone to get into that position by becoming a well respected Dr in the elite gymnastics team before doing anything. Noone would question it because of his status.

Predatory men go to incredible lengths to abuse their victims, sometimes involving very in depth planning and years in the execution. And then people can't believe it and 1) blame victims or 2) think safeguarding is going too far.

I knew about the school as it was the only school which took Reception age boarders (from 4) . I had a friend who taught there for a while.

Abducted In Plain Sight is the documentary I was previously referring to. That entire family was groomed too. It was horrifying to watch and incredibly frustrating how the parents colluded with the abuser.

Awful awful things happen right under our noses despite our best efforts to safeguard our children. I apologise if my earlier posts came across as victim blaming, that wasn’t my intention at all.

Reception age boarders! Bloody hell.

As I recall, the reason for so many deletions appeared to be that every time anybody started a new thread there must have been a Google alert on the name and the legal threats began. MNHQ was put under huge pressure to provide posters' details, I think, which persuaded most posters to withdraw their posts, even when they seemed to have been factual and substantiated. The Streisand effect came into force though, as over the years this is what the school became known for on MN, and the original criticisms would have never reached such a wide audience.

@SpaceRaiders

Abducted In Plain Sight is the documentary I was previously referring to. That entire family was groomed too. It was horrifying to watch and incredibly frustrating how the parents colluded with the abuser.

Awful awful things happen right under our noses despite our best efforts to safeguard our children. I apologise if my earlier posts came across as victim blaming, that wasn’t my intention at all.

Oh yes I saw that one too. Just awful. The mother recalled a moment during her rextra marital affair with the paedophile predator who kidnapped her daughter and smiled.

Strange that we made the same observation about completely different documentaries, but around the same thing, the parents being won over by predators.

It's a sign of how common it is and how important it is to be vigilant. It always makes me look a little closer when someone raises concerns and the reaction to their comment or question is to imply they are obsessed.

The safeguarding of children, such a terrible thing to be obsessed with. Go back to the shoes, make up and handbags ladies.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/teachers-banned-classroom-sexual-misconduct-record-numbers-statistics-investigation-a7828891.html%3famp

Lovely. An article about a record number of teachers struck off for sexual abuse. This is beyond gross.

I wonder if the increased digitalisation is adding to this?

@LadyLyndon
I remember that letter! DD was offered a completely free place for sixth form, based on her GCSE results in 2002. The pizza parlour, leisure centre with pool, and private ensuite rooms made it very enticing.
DD was told she could bring her horse, when she said that she didn’t own a horse, they said they would give her one. It al looked very odd, especially the two separate faculties; DD declined the offer.

There's also

www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/concerns-over-running-ruthin-school-19354891

With the sacked head going on to set up an online school...