Children’s home boss who sexually abused kids as young as 6 for 18 years avoids prison | UK | News
Malcom Phillips (Image: PA)
The former boss of a kindergarten who subjected children to sexual and physical abuse will not go to prison. Malcolm Phillips, 93, was given a permanent discharge at Bradford Crown Court after he was found to have sexually abused children at Operation Screen in Halifax between 1976 and 1994.
The former care home manager, from Birmingham, was deemed unfit to stand trial due to “various medical conditions” and watched proceedings via video link from her home. His former assistant Linda Brunning, 67, of Sowerby Bridge, was jailed for 25 years after being found guilty of indecently assaulting a child and helping Phillips abuse another child in the 1980s and 1990s. The pair were found responsible for a series of attacks on children aged between 6 and 15 at the Halifax home during trials earlier this year. Sentencing the pair, Judge Kirstie Watson described Phillips as a “master manipulator” who had created a culture of fear among vulnerable young people. He added: “You were a master manipulator, presenting different faces to different people.”
Linda Brunning, 66, of Sowerby Bridge, Calderdale, was sentenced (Image: West Yorkshire Police)
Bradford Crown Court heard the judge’s only option was for Phillips to be released entirely, which would mean he would not serve a prison sentence. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
The court heard Phillips abused four girls and two boys while running Skircoat Lodge, a temporary accommodation for children who were the subject of a care order.
The home, which was set up in the 1970s, was allegedly run “like a prison” by Phillips and the abuse was “unrestricted and unreported”.
Children as young as nine were targeted for sexual abuse, while others were denied food and threatened with cancellation of family visits.
Skircoat Lodge closed in 1995 after West Yorkshire Police launched Operation Screen, an investigation that resulted in Phillips being sentenced to seven years in prison for sexual offenses including rape and indecent assault.
Campaigners later protested outside Calderdale Council, the authority responsible for the home, calling for a re-investigation of the case.
Skircoat Lodge in Halifax has since been demolished (Image: West Yorkshire Police)
A new investigation, Operation Henway, was launched in 2017 after more victims campaigned for their experiences to be heard, ultimately leading to convictions and Monday’s sentencing hearing.
Several survivors waived their right to anonymity to submit victim impact statements to the court.
Kelly Lees arrived at Skircoat Lodge in 1992 as an 11-year-old boy. The court heard Kelly Lees was punched in the face by Brunning and sexually assaulted by Phillips.
He said of Phillips: “I find it hard to believe that my abuser, living the life of a free man, will never face any consequences for his actions.
“He should have been in court and this should have been my time to stand up to him. I feel like he’s gaming the system and laughing at me.”
Ahead of the sentencing hearing, Lees told ITV News: “They called it the children’s home. It was a room. There were children being abused there every day.”
Inside Halifax’s Skircoat Lodge, where children suffered years of abuse (Image: West Yorkshire Police)
Another survivor, Karen Bentham, told the court 13,116 days passed between her arrival at Skircoat Lodge and the time Phillips was found responsible for the abuse.
In court, he wore a T-shirt bearing the names of people who died or committed suicide after staying in the house.
Victim Angela Radford told the court she continues to fight for justice because “she has to think that one day she will be believed.”
After the hearing, survivor Kaz Gray thanked those who supported the victims over the years.
“Thank you to everyone who has supported the survivors over the years,” Gray told ITV News.
Skircoat Lodge, once located in a leafy suburb of Halifax, has since been demolished.
