DE LA SALLES – REFINEMENT

Another quote below from the official history where it’s claimed that the De La Salle brothers should ‘cultivate in themselves the quality of refinement in bearing, in language, and in manners’

That was certainly not my experience at St Joseph’s College, Ipswich, and neither is it the experience of many other Survivors. The abusers Brothers James, Solomon and Kevin come immediately to mind but there were many more.

It’s their endless self-congratulation and self-deification I find so abhorrent. There is never any acknowledgement of the numerous times the DLS fell far short of such standards

DE LA SALLE: THE FOUNDER’S WORDS

Here’s the De La Salle founder on how De La Salle brothers should behave.

‘…Never allowing themselves to descend to anything base…This seriousness does not consist in a severe or austere aspect, in anger or in harsh words… The teachers will above all never become familiar with their pupils…’

It angers me and many other Survivors that the De La Salles endlessly present themselves and preen themselves today with self-congratulation and not a word of self-criticism, always awarding themselves ten out of ten for their holy and most excellent behaviour..

They seem so ruled by the arrogance of clericalism that it would never occur to them to say, ‘We got it so wrong in recent years. We strayed far from the path of righteousness. From the words of our holy founder. We are truly and profoundly sorry that we grievously and irrevocably harmed so many thousands of children and we hang our heads in shame and humbly ask for their forgiveness.’

Yet if they did make a genuine apology along these lines (as opposed to their curt, fake apology buried deep within their website and criticised even by the partisan Tablet) they would earn the respect and forgiveness of some survivors, at least.

So it actually makes good sense. Insurers – or whoever really runs the DLS order – please note. But perhaps you simply can’t help yourselves? Arrogance is now your way of life? And not acknowledging that your Order screwed up – big-time?

I pity you.

A ROLE MODEL FOR THE DE LA SALLES & RLSS

I believe this is an excellent role model for the De La Salles and their safeguarders – the RLSS – who protect the DLS from us annoying survivors. It shows what survivors are looking for and how it can be done.

In Ireland, a Terenure College rugby coach was sentenced today. The college is run by the Carmelites. This is the statement his order put out. I think it’s a model of its kind and worth bringing to the attention of DLS. This man has been convicted of abusing more children than anybody else in Ireland.

There were  similar monsters amongst the De La Salles  – notably Brothers Solomon, Kevin and James.

Statement: Carmelite Order, which runs Terenure College

It was a grave failure that he was not stopped, and for this, we are truly sorry. Through the civil legal process, as far as possible, we swiftly offer financial compensation to minimise further stress to those abused

Statement: Carmelite Order, which runs Terenure College

📄 It was a grave failure that he was not stopped, and for this, we are truly sorry

📄 Through the civil legal process, as far as possible, we swiftly offer financial compensation to minimise further stress to those abused pic.twitter.com/MRnAaKVIa7

— Frank Greaney (@FrankGreaney) February 24, 2023

It’s well worth reading the link above. It’s a full statement by the Carmelites

Irrespective of its legal status, what is noteworthy is the HUMANITY the Carmelites are showing. Maybe late in the day, but it’s still humanity.

And it’s more than words, it’s deeds, too

I see no such humanity in the DLS or the RLSS.. Passive aggression – yes. Humanity – no.

Meanwhile, the DLS relates its self-proclaimed holiness and humanity in this video below and its concern for children etc. Yet its actions – as related on this site and elsewhere – are the polar opposite. Warning: Its hypocrisy may be triggering for some survivors.

THE RLSS – AN UPDATE RE THE DE LA SALLES

Here’s an update regarding the RLSS and the De La Salles.

The RLSS invited me to a (Zoom) meeting. Here is my reply to their head of Safeguarding:

Thanks so much , Stephen.

I was impressed by the work you did on child protection re Caldey Island.

When the equivalent happens where the De La Salles are concerned I will be sure to sing your praises.

But currently my view from the outside – not being present at your meetings with the De La Salles – is that you are dealing with a very determined and cunning organisation that will not admit its crimes, even though it promised to.

And so far you are losing and the De La Salles are winning.

As you know, that’s also the view of other survivors of the De La Salles so there’s no point in having a meeting at this stage.

When you can prove you have made progress regarding  the De La Salles admitting their crimes, then I would be very happy to talk and understand your point of view.

But, currently, I see your organisation – no matter what its good intentions – as part of the problem, rather than the solution.

So I will continue to expose how RLSS Safeguarding is there to safeguard the De La Salles, not survivors of their terrible crimes.

In my view, because you are ‘tethered’ by your paymasters, you should remove the De La Salles from your list of clients because their current immoral behaviour – in line with their criminal past –  is giving your RLSS  a very bad name.

Once the De La Salles  are ’expelled’  and can no longer hide behind you, it will be easier for Survivors to deal with them. I would submit that this is the right and moral thing for you to do. Otherwise you are in collusion with them.

As always, I will feature this response on social media because I believe in full transparency and we Survivors need to protect and support each other against a formidable and uncaring enemy. Your organisation seems incapable.

Best wishes

Patrick

THE RLSS – THEIR TIME IS UP

As you probably know the RLSS (Religious Life Safeguarding Service) is the new ‘go to’ Safeguarding organisation for religious orders, including the De La Salles. They promised to be different – a new broom. But nothing’s changed and their time is up.

Unlike the CSSA, the RLSS does actually have investigative powers.

(So, too, do the unpaid Diocesan Safeguarding officers who I know from past experience in the Copca era were a waste of my time.  But the RLSS seem different)

The RLSS promised an outcome to De La Salle issues of ORGANISED PAEDOPHILE RINGS in their schools. That promise was well before Christmas and we’re now in Feb.

So their time is up.

I believe what is delaying them is the De La Salles trying to wriggle out of their agreed apology for Brother Laurence and their promised investigation.

All over a year old.

My guess is it’s the Catholic insurance company who are saying, ‘Don’t say anything. Don’t admit anything. Maybe Mills will get tired and go away. Survivors often do. We just have to hang on in there.’

Mills is not going away.

The RLSS does seem to have some genuine people, but that’s part of the problem. They’re tethered, as they admit themselves, their powers are limited, so they are as much of the problem as the criminal  De La Salles who are hiding behind them.

To me that’s COLLUSION.

And  just in case someone challenges me on ‘criminal’ DLS,  I’d say an organisation that allows over a hundred cases of child sex abuse by De La Salles and their lay teachers to go without investigation is a criminal organisation.

Especially when there is evidence it’s organised sexual abuse. Not odd rotten apples.

We survivors are not collateral damage, much as I think some Catholics would like us to be and just shut up and leave these “”””holy””””” men alone.

Here’s my TWEETS on the subject of the RLSS.

I’m sure I’ll be returning to this matter again soon.

I’ve felt out-manouvered by Police Hydrant and Catholic Safeguarding. Catholic Safeguarding knew I would be wasting my time by reporting historic crimes to Hydrant, but they let me go ahead. But I wanted to see what the 'new broom' RLSS Safeguarding was like. (1/4)

— Patrick Mills (@PatrickEMills) February 18, 2023

The serious issue of Brother Laurence's demotion and promised apology & promised De La Salle investigation into their child sex abuse crimes at DLS schools in Ipswich, Bournemouth,Beulah Hill etc is still on the table. I'm not letting the DLS monks get away with it. (2/4

— Patrick Mills (@PatrickEMills) February 18, 2023

The RLSS did some good work on the Caldey Island case, so I cut them some slack. But their time is now https://t.co/w02XL569a1 I am tweeting & posting that they are just as questionable as their paymasters the criminal De La Salles whom they are safeguarding, NOT survivors. (4/4

— Patrick Mills (@PatrickEMills) February 18, 2023

My twitter handle is

@PatrickEMills

So if you were able to find those tweets and retweet them, they would reach a wider audience and show the Catholic Church and its organisations for the shameful entities they really are.

BROTHER LAURENCE HUGHES – THE MISSING APOLOGY

THE DE LA SALLES – THE MISSING INVESTIGATION

As you may have seen on my previous blog, the RLSS  – Religious Life Safeguarding Service –  have successfully arranged for DBS police checks on Cistercian monks on Caldey Island.  

So it’s a great step forward for Caldey Island Survivors and the RLSS are to be congratulated for their supportive work.

It suggests that, despite, IMO, the questionable nature of all Safeguarding organizations as ‘fronts’ to protect religious orders and priests, that individuals can still work within the system and create real change.  Even though independent agencies are the real answer.

But this still leaves the serious matter of the De La Salles and the RLSS long outstanding.

Currently there is a missing apology and a missing investigation.

Both are of considerable current importance to survivors of the De La Salles.

 I’ve got a little tired recently of reading in posts here how wonderful the DLS  were with barely a grudging nod to survivors, and often with the qualification, ‘But I never saw the brothers do anything wrong myself.’

Well, of course you didn’t because you weren’t at risk!  

It’s like we survivors are necessary collateral damage to fulfill the perverted desires of the De La Salles, while you high achievers got on with your splendid careers, thanks to these wonderful and ‘holy’ brothers you admire so much.

Such high achievers should reflect that, in my era, at least 10%  of every class were physically and sexually abused by the DLS. (I can break that down for skeptics.) That makes the DLS a criminal organization and it’s impossible to identify, with any certainty, who was good and who was evil. Only the blatant ones, a very few of whom were caught. Please reflect on that before you continue to sing the praises of a questionable organization that is still operating today and still has its hand out for more funding to continue its ‘holy work’ in the Global South.

So onto the missing apology and investigation.

I’ve been holding off for some time on both the foregoing, not least because the SCOE, the Safeguarding organization for religious orders of which the De La Salles was a client, was disbanded earlier last year and replaced by the RLSS, a new safeguarding organization.

Before it disappeared, the SCOE didn’t pass any information about these two matters above onto the RLSS.

But of course the SCOE was directed by the DLS who could have easily updated the RLSS.

In both instances, the Safeguarding organizations are limited by their client, the DLS, who actually have the real power as the RLSS have indicated to me.

To reprise, when it existed, the SCOE/DLS assured me there would be a public apology for the horrific corporal punishments delivered by Brother Laurence Hughes previously head of the DLS. He has been ‘reduced to the ranks’ following an investigation which is now complete without criminal charges being made.

I’ve been told that it’s almost impossible to bring criminal charges for physical abuse after such a long time period.

The important issue of how Laurence Hughes dismissed abuse complaints while he was head of the DLS has never been addressed.

Given that he has been reduced to the ranks, it should be.  It means that those complaining of child abuse received a hearing from a man who committed savage physical abuse on children.

Here’s what the SCOE actually said to me on 15^th July last year.

I have been waiting for confirmation on the outcome to the investigation
following receipt of allegations made against Bro Laurence Hughes (LH).

De La Salle (DLS) in the near future will be making a statement about of the
outcome of the investigation and I understand this statement will contain an
apology to victims and will be published. I will ask DLS to make the
statement easily accessible, through their website or to others if/as
requested (* see note below).

I understand that LH no longer holds any leadership or safeguarding role
within DLS.

AFAIK the DLS did not make a statement in the ‘near future’ as promised.

It was also stated, as you can see, that it would be a prominent apology, rather than the earlier example of a DLS apology on a separate and general matter. That was a vague and general apology to all survivors of DLS abuse. Such a cursory ‘sorry’ was buried on the DLS website only after I’d shown the announced apology was actually missing.   Even the Tablet had to acknowledge this was untoward.

And the DLS also said in a newspaper interview last year that there would be a thorough investigation of all the allegations about the DLS in Ipswich and elsewhere in the South of England which it suggested were ‘unheard of’.

As I’ve told the RLSS the cases against Brothers James, Kevin and Solomon in particular are overwhelming and need public acknowledgement by the De La Salles.  They also involve the Catholic laity who helped cover up the crimes of James and Solomon.

Since then, there has been nothing about this ‘investigation’ which I do not believe even exists.

There have been meetings between the RLSS and DLS with no outcome and emails from the RLSS assuring me of their best and genuine intentions.

Because they are a new organization I believed I should give them the benefit of the doubt and also in the interests of due diligence.

So – after an extended delay on the apology and the investigation – we are no further forward.

The DLS have done an excellent job of stalling for most of last year and their RLSS has played a role in this. 

The DLS – according to the RLSS – have not been very communicative with them either. Whilst I have some sympathy with them and the frustration they must feel, my priority is we survivors who have been harmed by the DLS.

The comments below relating to the CSSA (the ‘general’ Catholic Safeguarding agency) apply equally to the RLSS.

I think both commentators on twitter put it very well.

Reference Group 

@Smartcairns11·

Nov 11

Every ‘respectable’ persons engaged as the face of ‪#CSSA‬ must be responsible for their use by church leaders as a ‘smokescreen’ of safeguarding to disguise, facilitate false trust &  add more layers to leaderships cover up and concealment of clerical sex crimes.

‪@nazirafzal‬ ‪https://twitter.com/Smartcairns11/status/1590654903328051200…‬

Countess Sigrid von Galen

@instcrimjust

Nov 10

Those ‘respectable’ persons are dangerous accomplices, as they create a smokescreen & illusion of safeguarding to disguise & facilitate cover ups & ongoing crimes. All inquiries have shown that the churches can’t be trusted & safeguards are PR stunts. ‪https://twitter.com/Smartcairns11/status/1590654903328051200‬

Despite the positive result at Caldey Island, after my personal experience with the SCOE, the RLSS and the DLS, I see nothing to disagree with here, not least because Safeguarding organizations have very limited power.

Of course the real culprits are the De La Salles who would seem to be more formidable opponents than the Cistercians and who are treating survivors with absolute contempt.

Not the behaviour of supposed ‘holy’ men.

BROTHER JAMES – MOVING FORWARD

I’ve written many times about Brother James Ryan of my old school St Joseph’s College, Ipswich from 1960 to the late 1960s, after which he went to Beulah Hill. He was a serial sex offender and a notorious violent abuser – his excessive and terrifying use of corporal punishment was infamous. Both in Ipswich and in Beulah Hill.

He sexually abused me and two other St J’s Ipswich pupils. And possibly a further pupil. All our testimonies are on this site.

This and much more are still with Operation Hydrant and it’s still – theoretically – with this ‘independent investigation’ commissioned by the De La Salles which I haven’t heard from after seven months. I waited all this time to be sure; my questions were not answered, so it’s clearly not going to happen.

Of course we all know the DLS files will be bulging with allegations against James, but the DLS are never going to admit that or give us access.

So that’s enough. Their time is up.

This matter is now being taken further.

As you will appreciate, it wouldn’t be sensible for me to go into all the details here, but you’ll doubtless be able to join the dots yourselves. If you’d like to know more, you can email me and I’ll tell you what I can.

I chose James because he abused me personally and because there are the statements of others confirming his crimes.  And because of his clearly sociopathic nature. He genuinely needed psychiatric help.

As we all know, there are many other DLS abusers, but in a crowded field of contenders, James was arguably the worst.

With such an individual, and such a crime,  the more witnesses, directly or indirectly, the better. 

There are several layers to this, but, please – ALL of you are important and what you may have to say could be relevant and make all the difference.  Needless to say your anonymity is guaranteed.

I’m looking for:

1)Anyone else who was sexually abused by Brother James – in whatever manner, ‘minor’ or ‘serious’ – please get in touch with me in confidence. There are options for you to consider that I can describe to you. I stress your anonymity is ensured.

2)If you know of any sexual assaults by Brother James on other pupils at Ipswich, Beulah Hill, or elsewhere – do please get in touch.  Even ‘hearsay’ could be relevant because it could be followed up.

3)I’ve guestimated there are TEN cases of extreme violence by James on this site. You may have already related them on this site. Often they make horrifying reading.

Once again, do please get in touch with me direct. E.G. Confirming a past testimony you made or relating a new one. They are regarded as secondary to sexual violence, but they may still be significant , relevant and important.

And they help build a composite picture of this man.

4)If you were sexually abused by a lay teacher or a DLS brother who was contemporary with James, do also get in touch.

I’m thinking, particularly, of Brother Kevin and Brother Solomon.  But there may be others.

 In this context, it would be Brother Kevin in early years 1960 – 1965 approx.  (Rather than his later era at Oak Hill). Ditto Solomon 1959 – 1962 approx (Rather than his subsequent era at Beulah Hill and return as Mercado)

It builds a picture of just what was going on at St J’s when Brother James was abusing children sexually and physically. There may be some relevant detail that could be useful– E.G. location.

For instance, I remember him making threats like ‘I will give you six on the bare’. And ‘I will give you six in your pyjamas’.

Both these threats I remember were said with a questionable relish.  Anyone else recall this?  It suggests the cross-over from legitimate corporal punishment into something very different.

It may also be important if things develop  from James to a much wider scenario.

James may just be the starting point.

It would be premature for me to say more on this post, but I can enlarge privately.

5)Any general information you recall about James may be useful, even if you didn’t witness or were the victim of his abuse. Just to build up a character portrayal of this man.

Thus I recall him as my form teacher 1B in 1960. Brilliant Maths teacher for someone as hopeless as I was! An okay ‘deeply religious’ Scripture teacher. He took over as Prefect of Discipline from Solomon, approx 1961 and probably held the post until 1966. He was a loner who IIRC looked helpless and lost when a St J’s boy in 1962 had a serious bike accident on Stonelodge Lane.  He was a fanatical advocate for vocations. He was never shy or timid to my knowledge as claimed in his obituary, now removed. He was also provably sectarian and anti protestant. He was Irish and IIRC was an ex DLS pupil himself.

Anything anyone would like to add could be put on this post or sent to me. For example – did he sleep in one of those cubicles at the end of a dormitory? Which ones?  Did he ever supervise games, showers etc?  I don’t remember him doing so, but I was a day boy. Did he go on any of those school holidays abroad?

6)I’m going to write to some important figures to gain more information and possible support, regarding James.

We’re moving forward at last. It’s finally happening.

 It’s time the truth about this dark period of St J’s history was revealed. With your help it could be.  No more cover-ups and dismissing it as ‘all in the past, those were different times, it never did me any harm, and I don’t remember a thing, and why can’t these troublemaking Old Boys just get over it, move on and get a life?’

So many boys were harmed by this man as part of a continuum of serious physical and sexual abuse by the De La Salle brothers.

I really do believe the truth sets us all free.

BROTHER KIERN – THE WORST ABUSER?

Brother Kiern is described below by an Old Boy of Oak Hill. Kiern was on temporary secondment to Oak Hill, maybe that’s why we haven’t heard of him before. But making children play PE and swim in the nude is very disturbing.

The Old Boy also indicates Kiern was unpredictably violent and had other ‘abnormalities’.

If anyone has anything to add on this man it could be relevant and I’ll certainly pass it onto the SCOE Safeguarding people – although I’ve yet to receive a reply and discover what current progress they are making.

Brother Kevin may have been absent in 86/87 when he went to France to escape justice. Part of the De La Salle Rat Run that has been discussed on an earlier blog.

If Safeguarding are trying to ignore us all that would be a mistake because I’m not giving up until the De La Salles have properly acknowledged their crimes and publicly hung their heads in shame.

A terse ‘sorry for whatever’ posted rather late on an obscure website doesn’t cut it and they should know it.

Hello Pat, I was in the same year as Zach, we were friends and partners in crime (small fish). What surprises me is that the worst abuser in our time at ‘Oak Hill’ has not been mentioned nor hinted at. Bro Kevin was absent in 1986/1987 for at least a term but a certain Brother (Bro Kiern as I recall, but Mercado fits the bill) was present and his abnormalities and penchants were manifested in unpredictable violence (Bro Kevin was a disciplinarian within ‘reason’) and making us boys play PE and swim in the nude. This temporary clerical staff member was a monster in look and action, yet he has not even been hinted at in your survivors testimonies. Bro John was not violent, rather indolent and lazy (as a teacher). Mr Mack was a violent man who beat me on my first night (aged 8) for having the temerity to question the cooks expertise. I suffered insomnia at Oak Hill and Bro Kevin used to find me late at night on the landing and invite me to his rooms in the tower where we would discuss religion.literature and high fantasy, he didn’t abuse me sexually then (though he did beat me often in public; I was and still am a rebel). Unlike you and some others I am a Catholic yet. I see things through the lense of humanity. Nobody is Perfect. Not me, not you, not the clergy. That is the whole point in Catholic faith learned the hard way, it is a human and living faith. Everyone falls short but love, truth, wisdom and faith overcomes all of the BS.

INVESTIGATION INTO DE LA SALLE ABUSE

CURRENT POSITION

desbill.scoe@gmail.com

SCOE  – Safeguarding

Dear Des Bill

I wanted to see what the latest situation was regarding the numerous allegations of abuse by old boys, including myself, at the hands of the De La Salles. Not only at St Joseph’s Ipswich, but also Beulah Hill and elsewhere. As you know, they are all recorded on this website and have also been available in summary for an investigator’s convenience.

I’m aware that they have been sent to police Operation Hydrant, via yourself and Catholic Safeguarding, and I look forward to their response in due course. 

The DLS have also contacted Suffolk police  – see below – and this may be part of the Hydrant investigation or separate. It’s not been made clear and it would be useful to know.

It was also stated by the DLS spokesperson that an independent investigator would be commissioned to look into these allegations which he said were  ‘unheard of’.

‘ most of the accusations made on Mr Mills blog were “completely unheard of”, he (Hudd) said. 

See EADT December 11 2021

https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/st-josephs-ipswich-abuse-monks-ask-police-8553626

“With regards to St Joseph’s, we’ve put the ball in Suffolk Constabulary’s court”, Mr Hudd said. “It’s up to them to work out what happened and if the abuse truly was systemic. 

“We’ve also hired our own independent and experienced child abuse investigator to assist the police. 

In fact ‘most’ allegations were ‘heard of’ and were  familiar to the DLS as survivors of Brother Kevin’s abuse prove on this site. And the Beulah Hill survivors who have made numerous allegations on line about Brother Solomon. 

For the DLS to claim they were unaware of these allegations and more is unconvincing.

The DLS own records will confirm that ‘most’ were ‘heard of’ as I’m sure Hudd knows only too well.

Moving onto the investigation, I have not had any contact from an investigator. But how else are they to reach the authors of the various allegations on my site?

We have been waiting these many months and nothing has happened. Who the investigator is has not been revealed to us.

I have the strong feeling that the investigator – six months later – has done nothing.

Is that the case?

You will recall that when the DLS provincial Laurence Hughes was being similarly investigated for allegations of his violent abuse of children, I put your independent investigator’s details on my site. Consequently, several Old Boys got in touch with the investigator.

As a system, it worked well and I have no complaints.

Surely that is the way to go here?

On which subject, I’m sure survivors of Hughes’s alleged violence would like to know what is happening. I understand that police action against Hughes is not proceeding? Is this correct? But I believe you said that – whatever the legal outcome – there would then be an internal inquiry? 

Is Hughes now reinstated as head of the DLS or has he ‘retired’ ? I think the survivors of his alleged assaults would like to know. 

I’m putting this letter up on my blog so survivors can be kept in the loop. I look forward to hearing from you.

Pat Mills

TWO MORE ST JOSEPH’S COLLEGE SCANDALS

The first one is ‘indirect’, in as much as the appalling abuser Timothy Cox, who called himself ‘Son of God’– from a wealthy Suffolk family  – was ‘only’ a pupil at St Joseph’s.

As my St Jo’s Old Boy source told me:

 ‘Just chatting to ex St Joseph’s guy who told me about this guy. I didn’t  know about it til now but he said he sat next to him at St Joe’s. Shudder’

This is something that none of the newspapers I checked referred to. Cox’s education and his background surely helped make him the person he is. But this doesn’t surprise me – such connections are rarely included in national or local papers. We can only speculate about why this is and what strings were pulled to keep St Jo’s out of the papers. I’ve demonstrated this elsewhere with the Colchester Knights of St Columba who managed successfully to keep a very low media profile when one of their Knights was convicted of major paedophile offences.

Of course it could be coincidence and nothing more. But predators not only abuse but also recruit new members, so it continues from one generation to the next.

And, as they say in Catholic seminaries, ‘They did to us. So now it’s our turn to do it to others.’

This transgenerational factor in Catholic abuse has been proven by the academic Oz Dark Network study of Catholic abusers I often refer to.

Of course no one, including Cox, is going to admit there’s a connection, but – given so many circumstantial factors – I’d lay money Cox was introduced to his vile practices by others. He didn’t just dream it up solo or entirely via the internet. Who his mentors were, we can only speculate. But St Jo’s – when he was there in the early 90s – seems to have been as foul as it was in my day in the 1960s. See the second scandal below.

Although, reassuringly, we’re constantly told the ‘New’ St Joseph’s of today is very different and truly religious and holy.  Different board of governors…?  Acknowledgement of the crimes of the past…? No financial connection with the De La Salle paedophiles…? No connection with the paedophile lay teachers of the past…?

Anyway, this is the link to Cox’s story.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/sep/09/childrensservices

Cox was released after less than  five years – which is surprising, more strings pulled? – and is ‘now’  (2018) living in Ipswich, just yards from a primary school.  That school is on Chantry Estate where I was brought up which is – of course – very close to St Joseph’s College.

Pure coincidence, I’m sure

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/paedophile-behind-online-abuse-ring-13137391

My  ex-St J’s source went on to tell me that this other St J’s old boy revealed:

‘He also said that around 1991 half the staff were sacked after another pedo scandal,  most of the sports  and arts, English and music were subject to a major cull. New head brought in , Mr Hennessy. All news to me as I was avoiding anything to do with the place then.’

Half the staff? WTF?!

Gosh! That took me by surprise. They managed to cover that one up well.  And no reporting to the police, of course. I think this was the same era as the St J’s lay teacher who recently killed himself, just before facing trial for paedophile offences.

It suggests to me, at that time, some kind of ‘ring’/organized abuse of at least 4 Catholic lay teachers.

And that excludes the smarter Catholic lay teachers who kept their heads down and avoided the cull.  That was my experience looking back to the 60s– the eccentric characters like Solomon, James and Kevin have now been outed, but I know of at least two other, ‘normal’ lay teachers, who successfully avoided the spotlight.

If I named either of them today, there’d be a howl of outrage from old boys of my generation, ‘He couldn’t have been an abuser because he was such a really great bloke and a brilliant teacher, too. I’d know if he was a wrong un.’

Sure you would.

Well, in one of those two cases, the police thought otherwise. At this stage, I can’t say more.

What is it about St Joseph’s that seems to attract more abusers than the average Catholic school?

I’d say it’s the transgenerational factor again. These predators hear on their grapevine that St J’s is a good place to find victims. After all, it was just a few years earlier IIRC that one Catholic lay teacher was using a cat o’ nine whip on a boy and getting away with it.

So these vile individuals were drawn to St J’s like moths to the flame.

If they were sacked in the early 90s, some of them could still be alive…

Food for thought?