Liverpool school abuse: We are the forgotten boys, survivors say

Victims of wide historical intersexual and carnal maltreatment astatine a council-run schoolhouse person said constabulary fto them down by missing a important accidental to halt it.

They person besides told the BBC they consciousness they were failed by Liverpool City Council, which ran the now-closed Lower Lee residential schoolhouse successful Woolton.

The assembly said "it should ne'er person been allowed to happen" and was "truly sorry" for the interaction connected the men.

Merseyside Police said it would present reappraisal its investigation.

BBC North West spoke with 9 victims and their families.

The victims, who telephone themselves "The Forgotten Boys", person besides demanded a nationalist enquiry to analyse however the maltreatment was capable to spell unchecked for astir 2 decades successful the 1980s and 90s.

They said their lives had been destroyed by unit who meted retired terrible beatings, forced them to basal bare successful corridors and sexually assaulted children arsenic young arsenic five.

While 2 men were convicted and jailed successful the 1990s, victims person claimed different abusers were ne'er brought to justice.

"It was the spot of horrors - mentally and physically," said Jack Barnes, who wept arsenic helium recalled being sent to Lower Lee arsenic a young boy.

"My puerility was stolen from me," said the present 48-year-old.

Mr Barnes, who has chosen to waive his close to anonymity, added: "I was whipped with bedewed towels, deed with hockey sticks and cricket balls by teachers. Locked successful classrooms with tables and chairs thrown astatine me.

"Staff would travel circular kissing america of an evening and enactment their lingua down our throats.

"I ran distant repeatedly and societal services sent maine back. I told them what was going to hap and they inactive sent maine back.

"We are the Forgotten Boys. We've each got the aforesaid problems. I inactive aftermath up sweating each night, I can't devour properly.

"The council, the section authorities person ne'er been held to account. We request a nationalist inquiry, apologies and closure truthful we tin mentally get ourselves together. We request to beryllium listened to for the involvement of humanity."

Lower Lee, which closed successful 2009, catered for boys with acquisition oregon behavioural difficulties.

In the 1990s, Merseyside Police investigated maltreatment astatine the schoolhouse nether Operation Care.

Two men - kid attraction serviceman Thomas Curbishley and caput of attraction Peter Amundsen - were jailed.

The sentencing justice told him: "You are an evil man. Your behaviour was monstrous and you are a intersexual monster.

"Your behaviour was an abomination and desecration of the innocence of young boys."

Liverpool Crown Court was told Amundsen was hired contempt having nary qualifications and having been mentally ill.

The justice said determination was nary capable strategy of monitoring, scrutiny oregon checks connected the backgrounds of paedophiles.

Victims person claimed different unit members were ne'er brought to justice, and that Merseyside Police missed an accidental to halt Amundsen erstwhile helium archetypal started abusing pupils.

"I was beaten truthful severely by Amundsen astatine schoolhouse I had bruises and marks each implicit my body," 1 unfortunate said. "I recovered immoderate apparel and ran away. I managed to get home, my mum saw maine and took maine to the constabulary station. This was successful the aboriginal 1980s.

"Officers took photographs of me. I made a statement. And thing happened. I trusted the police. I was a frightened young lad and determination was nary outcome.

"If my lawsuit had gone forward, Amundsen could person been prosecuted and different mediocre guiltless kids going to that schoolhouse wouldn't person been abused. It could person been stopped.

"I can't artifact retired the things that happened to maine astatine Lower Lee, what the unit did to me. It's 40 years aboriginal and I can't get it retired of my head.

"I was that frightened astatine schoolhouse I utilized to bedewed the bed. My punishment was to beryllium enactment successful a bath truthful blistery I couldn't basal it. I was grabbed by the limb and pulled down into it. My assemblage was burning."

Some of the victims said they had turned to portion and drugs to artifact retired the enduring pain, portion others person tried to instrumentality their ain lives.

"I was utilizing painkillers to artifact retired the memories," said one. "I conscionable wanted to extremity the symptom and the horrible memories due to the fact that I can't instrumentality it.

"I was constantly, perpetually frightened astatine Lower Lee due to the fact that you didn't cognize what the unit would bash next.

"I fell dormant successful people erstwhile and the teacher dragged maine retired and kicked and punched me. I had purple bruises each implicit my arms. And past helium asked maine if I loved him. And helium was putting his hands down my trousers.

"The council, the police, they should person known what was going on. I conscionable consciousness similar everything's been buried nether the carpet and they've said 'forget astir it'."

Merseyside Police told the BBC it was alert of "abhorrent abuse" astatine Lower Lee, and that it received reports of maltreatment from 14 victims during its archetypal probe successful the 1990s.

Deputy Chief Constable Ian Critchley said: "As a effect of accusation enactment to america by BBC North West Tonight, we are reviewing the archetypal probe and volition beryllium speaking to those victims to find if immoderate reinvestigation should instrumentality place.

"It is genuinely humbling and emotive to perceive the voices of victims of kid maltreatment and we request to guarantee we perpetrate our work to amended successful each aspect.

"I person apologised, successful my relation arsenic the nationalist pb for kid protection, to each the victims of maltreatment that policing has fto down and I proceed to reiterate that heartfelt apology."

A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said: "The young radical were fto down by those who were expected to beryllium taking attraction of them.

"We are genuinely atrocious for the interaction the maltreatment has had connected the lives of those affected. It should ne'er person been allowed to happen.

"That is wherefore we worked intimately with Merseyside Police connected the Operation Care probe successful the 1990s which brought to justness immoderate of those liable and, much recently, the autarkic enquiry into kid intersexual abuse."