Decades after he was sexually abused, Geoffrey still wonders if the abuser was brought to justice
All names and identifying details have been changed.
Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Before Geoffrey joined a local youth club in the 1970s, his parents made sure they met the leader and found out more about the group.
But this did not deter the leader from grooming and sexually abusing Geoffrey.
When Geoffrey was about eight or nine years old, he read a newspaper article about a local club for young wildlife enthusiasts. His parents contacted the group on his behalf, and invited the leader, Horrace, to meet them at the family home.
With hindsight, Geoffrey believes they were being caring, responsible and vigilant parents and attempting to ensure his safety.
Following this, Geoffrey joined the group. There were about 12 boys who went on regular trips to the countryside, organised and led by Horrace.
Horrace insisted that the boys wore shorts under their trousers. Geoffrey remembers one occasion when the leader encouraged them to paddle in a river while he took photographs of them.
Geoffrey adds that he had the impression that he was liked by Horrace and was a ‘a bit of a favourite’ with him.
One day he received a letter from Horrace saying that Geoffrey and one other boy had been chosen to help carry out a wildlife survey in a local park.
During this trip, Horrace told the other boy to wait where he was, and took Geoffrey into an area of woodland. The leader sat next to Geoffrey and put his hand down the front of his trousers, shorts and underwear and stroked the boy’s genitals.
When they returned, Horrace made Geoffrey wait in the park while he took the other boy to the same area. On the way back from the trip, Horrace repeatedly made Geoffrey promise he would not tell anyone about the abuse.
But Geoffrey did tell his parents, who reported the abuse to the police. Geoffrey remembers being interviewed at home by a male police officer, a day or two after the abuse took place. The police officer asked Geoffrey if he would be prepared to give evidence in court. Geoffrey said no, although he was happy for the police to use any information he had told them.
He doesn’t know the outcome of the police investigation, but he thinks the national charity connected to Horrace’s group was made aware of the abuse, because meetings and trips were suspended. He remembers feeling bad about this, because his friends from the group had nowhere to go and he was not able to explain the reason.
He also felt confused about what had happened – he knew the abuse was not right, but he had trusted the perpetrator. No one talked to him about it. ‘I can’t believe that I wasn’t offered any help, any counselling … my parents didn’t even speak to me about it’ he says.
Geoffrey would like to know the outcome of the original police investigation. As an adult he realises that Horrace groomed him, and possibly other boys, for abuse. He says ‘There’s no way we would have been the first. He put himself in the position of being a leader to a select group of young boys, on a regular basis’.
He feels that the main, lasting impact on him has been a sense of frustration, partly that Horrace got away with what he did, and partly about people who commit crimes and blame their behaviour on something that happened to them as a child.
Geoffrey suggests that responsible institutions should interview local leaders once a year, and regularly ask children for their comments and feedback on local leaders in a confidential way.