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January
CHILDREN ABUSED FOR DECADES AT “SADISTIC” LONDON SCHOOL, INQUIRY FINDS. IICSA report lays bare culture of cover-up and denial that facilitated 30 years of abuse
October 24, 2019
Harriet Sherwood
The Guardian
A “sadistic and predatory” atmosphere and a culture of cover-up and denial in a Catholic school allowed sexual abusers to commit crimes against children for decades, an independent inquiry has found.
Senior figures at Ealing Abbey and St Benedict’s school in west London, part of the English Benedictine Congregation, were perpetrators of abuse over a 30-year period. Staff members failed to raise concerns because of a “mafia-like” atmosphere and the fear of losing their jobs.
Since 2003, four members of staff, including a former abbot, have been convicted