Myles says that people get hurt when organisations are not held accountable for sexual abuse
All names and identifying details have been changed.
Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Myles was sexually abused by two members of the Salvation Army.
The organisation attempted to cover up the abuse by both perpetrators.
Myles grew up in the 1970s and 80s. His family was very involved with the Salvation Army. He describes how it felt to be part of this organisation. ‘You’re in a bubble and you think everything in that bubble is fine.’
When Myles was about nine or 10 years old, he was in a Salvation Army centre with his mother. A senior leader called Tim took Myles, alone, into his office. He sat Myles on his lap and kissed him on the lips, saying ‘You can’t tell your mummy about this’.
Myles says he didn’t think anything of it the first time, but after this happened on a second occasion, Myles told his mother what had happened. She wrote to the Salvation Army about Tim.
Myles doesn’t know exactly what happened to Tim, except that the Salvation Army dealt with the matter internally.
‘This is what annoys me. It’s an organisation you should be able to trust’ he says.
A few years later, when Myles’ mum was ill, she arranged for another member of the Salvation Army to take Myles away for a break.
This man, Billy, told Myles he had another guest, so Myles would have to share his bed. Myles says he didn’t see anyone else in the house. He describes how that night he woke up to find Billy was performing oral sex on him. ‘I literally froze’ he says.
Myles didn’t tell anyone about this at the time. ‘I was scared and embarrassed and I didn’t think anyone would believe me.’
But more than 20 years later, he did report the abuse to the police. He was prompted to come forward by stories in the media about child sexual abuse. ‘I went through a really bad time’ he says.
He discovered from the police that other people had written to the Salvation Army to report abuse by Billy, but no action had been taken and he continued working with children.
Myles says ‘So the Salvation Army did the same thing again’.
He says the Salvation Army took a long time to respond to the police request for evidence and did not provide it until the police threatened court action.
The prosecution did not proceed because the other complainants were not willing to give evidence. However, the police ensured that Billy was prevented from working with children again.
Myles says he has been ostracised by many members of the Salvation Army.
He is angry that they covered up the allegations against Billy. ‘They kept it in-house … this is what’s got to me’ he says.
Myles has been diagnosed with PTSD. He finds it difficult to go to the area where he was abused, which is inconvenient as he still lives nearby. He has physical problems that make it hard for him to commit to therapy. He says ‘I’m pretty much having to deal with it myself’.
He feels strongly that organisations like the Salvation Army must be accountable. ‘They need to start referring people to the police when they get complaints like this, rather than hiding it and carrying on.’