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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

More awkward shit for the NSPCC

29 replies

RedToothBrush · 22/07/2019 17:31

Well this is kinda awkward for the NSPCC...

Joanna Williams @jowilluams293
Incredible this was taken so seriously by so many. This detail blows my mind: Beech gave talks to children as young as five about the dangers of abuse on behalf of the NSPCC.... delivering assemblies and workshops to young children.
amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/22/carl-beech-vip-paedophile-ring-claims-guilty?CMP=share_btn_tw&__twitter_impression=true
Carl Beech made up VIP paedophile ring claims, jury finds
Former nurse found guilty of perverting course of justice and fraud after 10-week trial

Revealed: how Carl Beech, the serial child abuse accuser, became the accused
Paedophile Carl Beech gave NSPCC talks to children about abuse

The former NHS manager, known under the pseudonym “Nick”, was found guilty after a 10-week trial at Newcastle crown court of 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud over a £22,000 criminal compensation payout.

Beech, a vicar’s son, stood by his claims in court, giving a graphic account of the three child murders he alleged he had witnessed, insisting: “I was there and I know it took place.”

The jury’s decision brings an end to the unprecedented case, which has seen one of those falsely accused brand the Metropolitan police’s investigation a “fishing expedition” based on the “ravings of a fantasist”. The trial heard how when Beech’s story had begun to unravel, he fled to a remote forested area of northern Sweden and going on the run last year.

And

Beech – himself a convicted paedophile after pleading guilty to child abuse image offences in a separate trial – alleged to the Metropolitan police in 2014 that when he was seven his stepfather, Major Raymond Beech, had begun ferrying him to depraved parties where he was sexually abused by a group of high-profile men.

And

Beech – who was a paediatric nurse at the start of his career – pleaded guilty in a separate trial in January to four counts of making indecent photographs of children, one count of possessing indecent images of children and one count of voyeurism.

He initially lied to investigators and sought to frame his teenage son for the crime, pleading not guilty to the indecent image offences before switching his plea and accepting he was responsible. Beech concealed some of the material, which included 28 child abuse images of the most serious category, on a secret calculator app on his iPad.

And

While police investigated Beech’s claims, he helped kickstart a charity exhibition highlighting child abuse survivors’ stories that went on display at City Hall in London. The Bristol-based Southmead Project charity’s founder, Dr Mike Peirce, now says he feels betrayed by Beech and is devastated.

And

The Guardian has learned that Beech gave talks to children as young as five about the dangers of abuse on behalf of the NSPCC. He volunteered for the charity from November 2012 until July 2015, delivering assemblies and workshops to young children. Beech spoke to key stage 1 and 2 pupils at 33 primary schools in Herefordshire as part of the NSPCC’s Speak Out Stay Safe scheme.

It looks from the time line that at the time he worked for the NSPCC he does seem to have had a good reputation. They were aware he was 'Nick' and was making these serious allegations to the police.

The prosecutions for child pornography were only this year.

However in the context of other safeguarding issues that the NSPCC has had, and the damage that 'Nick' has done for genuine child abuse victim cases this is still a big deal.

It can only further damage the reputation of the NSPCC at a time when we are all asking questions and feeling like we are being dismissed for concerns.

Its troubling.

OP posts:
cavalier · 22/07/2019 17:34

Despicable person .... thank God he’s been found out

CaptainKirksSpookyghost · 22/07/2019 17:38

thank God he’s been found out

Yeah, but it's not going to change anything, this is one of many. And nobody from the inside of these organizations is doing anything to tackle the root of the problem, in fact they are helping to break down remaining safeguarding.

Apollo440 · 22/07/2019 17:49

Look this is fake news. This never happens. No one would go through all that effort to get access to children. We know this from gender self id. The onerous nature of saying 'I am a woman' weeds out all the bad apples.

SunsetBeetch · 22/07/2019 18:20

Speechless.

Caucho · 22/07/2019 22:04

And embarrassing for the we believe you rubbish. I know there’s a campaign for anonymity for people accused of sexual crimes in line with the accuser. Plenty disagree and there are many good reasons for this. However the least you can then do in such circumstances is wait for the fucking case before jumping straight to judgements. Didn’t Tom Watson publicly call Lord Brittany close to evil. The poor sod died before being told they had dropped the case. They’d actually dropped the case six months earlier but didn’t feel fit to tell him when he was alive to find out

arranbubonicplague · 22/07/2019 22:14

Are we well past the point at which we accept that a number of these charities and their governance are not fit for purpose?

Caucho · 22/07/2019 22:15

I also don’t understand why the NSPCC is letting anyone go into to schools without any sort of check. He was still doing it at some point after the allegations come out and surely should have been pulled with some sort of contentious and high profile investigation occurring. As has been said paedophiles will go to extreme lengths to access children. Surely the NSPCC is in position to know this pretty much then anyone? This is just one of many many other incidents which makes them seem incompetent if being kind or something more sinister and been taken over by the perverts themselves. You’re supposed to believe the NSPCC are there to protect children but if I had my own would be concerned with protecting my children FROM the NSPCC.

AnyOldPrion · 22/07/2019 22:18

“Beech – who was a paediatric nurse”

Yet another example of the lengths predatory men will go to....

SpartacusAutisticusAHF · 22/07/2019 22:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

truthisarevolutionaryact · 22/07/2019 22:19

Have the NSPCC investigated the access that he had to children while working for them I wonder?

CaptainKirksSpookyghost · 22/07/2019 22:32

Have the NSPCC investigated the access that he had to children while working for them I wonder?

Yeah, like hell they have, and they won't unless made to, as it will make other men who are doing what Beech did a bit uncomfortable.

Needmoresleep · 23/07/2019 01:07

Covered by the Mail as well. Pretty blunt headline
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7274369/Paedophile-Carl-Beechs-NSPCC-role-allowed-mingle-children-young-four.html

missedith01 · 23/07/2019 07:16

Caucho

The Times say he had a high-level (presumably an enhanced?) DBS certificate. Sorry I can't do a token, someone else might be able to ...

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/operation-midland-carl-beech-was-an-expert-in-deception-and-invention-l6hx3ltrb

ChickenonaMug · 23/07/2019 12:05

So a paedophile went into schools, on the behalf of the NSPCC and it appears likely that he used their definition of sexual abuse, to teach children that sexual abuse is (only) occurring if they are being made to do something to their bodies that frightens or worries them.

(Btw I am unclear how long the definition has been taught to children with its current wording but the Speak Out, Stay Safe assemblies have been going since 2011)

This is a clear demonstration of how paedophiles and predatory men will seek out positions with the NSPCC, schools and other charities and also shows that DBS checks are not enough to stop them infiltrating.

It is clear that he sought out roles to both bring him in contact with children but also roles which would mean he had influence on safeguarding policies such as within the schools where he was a governor.

Did he seek to have influence with the NSPCC?

How much influence has he or other paedophiles (who have yet to be discovered or convicted) had on the NSPCC?

How do we know that paedophiles have not influenced the awful definition of sexual abuse that the NSPCC teach to children?

The definition which, I think, fails to help children to recognise the grooming and sexual abuse that they are being subjected too.

The definition which may also cause sexually abused children to feel ashamed that they did not react like normal children who would be frightened be the abuse - increasing the risk that they will not disclose due to shame and increasing the distress that a child will be feeling.

This definition is a peadophile's dream definition. Inaccurate, confusing and victim-blaming. It is pretty similar to what peadophiles have been telling their victims for years. "Don't worry about what we are doing. I know how much you like it. Other people won't understand how special it is"

In the light of this and other recent events I really hope the NSPCC are seriously reviewing their safeguarding frameworks and the culture that exists within the NSPCC.

AnneElliott · 23/07/2019 12:14

Very awkward for them indeed. I had them on the door step last week asking for a direct debit donation. The young bloke was shocked to hear about the previous issues which meant I wasn't prepared to support them.

Wonder what will happen to their donations now?

Caucho · 23/07/2019 13:04

Yes I have seen since he had passed the relevant checks. Still should have stepped away once his ongoing case became apparent

VickyEadie · 23/07/2019 13:46

I also don’t understand why the NSPCC is letting anyone go into to schools without any sort of check. He was still doing it at some point after the allegations come out and surely should have been pulled with some sort of contentious and high profile investigation occurring. As has been said paedophiles will go to extreme lengths to access children. Surely the NSPCC is in position to know this pretty much then anyone? This is just one of many many other incidents which makes them seem incompetent if being kind or something more sinister and been taken over by the perverts themselves. You’re supposed to believe the NSPCC are there to protect children but if I had my own would be concerned with protecting my children FROM the NSPCC.

As I repeatedly say (and as a former headteacher AND senior postholder in a local authority with special responsibility for safeguarding), enhanced DBS checks prove only that on the date of issue the person had so far not been caught.

They're far from the 'extensive' check people have been led to believe they are - for example, you're only required to give addresses going back 3 years. So, if you've offended abroad, it won't show up.

Part of safeguarding in schools is that those involved in staff recruitment must undergo training on 'safer recruitment' - for my current role, I'm about to undergo a refresher, because (and this cannot be said enough), abusers are developing knowledge of how we're trying to root them out all the time.

I do wonder what sort of checks the NSPCC undertakes other than the aforementioned, deeply flawed DBS...

ChickenonaMug · 23/07/2019 14:52

As I repeatedly say (and as a former headteacher AND senior postholder in a local authority with special responsibility for safeguarding), enhanced DBS checks prove only that on the date of issue the person had so far not been caught.

Yes and the vast majority of people who sexually abuse children are never caught. So whilst DBS checks are useful for stop a small minority of predators that have been convicted, it can lead to far too many people and organisations trusting that people who have passed DBS check are fine.

DBS checks and safeguarding policies can also be used by organisations to try and absolve themselves of blame and deflect criticism. They can simply say that a person passed all checks and that they followed all their policies. This doesn't show that there weren't other members of staff who had that uncomfortable feeling about what a person was saying or doing - even if that didn't pass the threshold of evidence of abuse.

It seems likely that Carl Beech 'Nick' enjoyed and was excited by talking about sexual abuse and from hearing about the abuse that others were subjected to. He set up a project to get those who have been abused to send their stories to him. What was going through his head during the assemblies where he was able to discuss sexual abuse with children? Did any children discuss their worried about abuse with him afterwards - the NSPCC say that sometimes children do confide in their volunteers after the assemblies?

It seems that quite a few people felt that he was lying but felt uncomfortable believing it. Did anyone working at the NSPCC think that perhaps they should meet with him once he became 'Nick' and it was clear to that the story he was sharing about his experiences was extreme? Were they alert to the possibilities that some predators talk about sexual abuse because that enjoy doing so? If they met, could they really not tell that perhaps there was something not right about what he was saying - especially as it was becoming apparent to others.

Although I do not think it that likely that he abused children whilst he was in the schools. Did his role mean that children would recognise him out of school and that he would have been able to groom them more easily if he so chose too?

Did he already know some of the children outside of school? Is the NSPCC risking that their volunteers are seen as safer and more trustworthy by both children and their parents which could enable those with the intention of abusing a child greater access to groom them?

Can a predator learn useful information from volunteering with the NSPCC?

There are many questions that the NSPCC need to ask themselves. There handling of the recent situations does not give me the confidence that they will.

ChattyLion · 23/07/2019 18:07

Good grief. This just gets worse and worse. We trust the NSPCC to get things right and safeguard children. They have special powers for them to do that work. Have they made a statement on this?

truthisarevolutionaryact · 23/07/2019 18:20

Two important posts VickyEadie and ChickenonaMug . This is a classic example of how a paedophile can access even the youngest of children despite all the checks that we put in place.
Yet here we are watching countless politicians, organisations and individuals actively removing various gatekeeping/ safeguarding strategies (single sex spaces, telling adults to keep a child's secrets confidences alongside certain groups and individuals openly seeking to alienate children from their families.) All happening in plain sight and funded by this government.

The NSPCC is the tip of a very unpleasant iceberg.

Jellylegsni · 23/07/2019 18:31

All the disgusting things that guy has done, yet it still made me jaw drop that he initially tried to frame his own son for the indecent image charges.

Jellylegsni · 23/07/2019 18:33

Yet here we are watching countless politicians, organisations and individuals actively removing various gatekeeping/ safeguarding strategies (single sex spaces, telling adults to keep a child's secrets confidences alongside certain groups and individuals openly seeking to alienate children from their families.) All happening in plain sight and funded by this government.

Yes it's absurd. It sounds unbelievable yet I know it's happening.

AncientLights · 23/07/2019 18:41

I can't believe it: just checked my FB and there was an ad (wrong word, I'm sure) from the NSPCC asking for people to volunteer to go into schools and help train kids about spotting abuse.

I gave them a piece of my mind. I wonder if I'll get any response?

Staggering.

TheRedBarrows · 23/07/2019 19:15

That he was in communication with young people about SA and doubtless getting off on it is a horrible, horrible form of abuse.

siring1 · 24/07/2019 14:20

So ovet and above an enhanced DBS check, what should organisations do?