The BBCA safeguarding review has found that child abuse victims were treated ruthlessly, hostilely and cruelly by monks on a remote island.
A survivor says the way she was treated at Calde Island made the effects of the abuse “a million times worse”.
The review said that allegations of abuse were often made but not followed up or reported to the police, and that a lack of challenge allowed a monk to abuse children for more than four decades. has made
Caldey Abbey commissioned the report, and its new abbot apologized for the inconvenience and inconvenience.
For the first five and a half years of her life, Rebecca lived on Caldy Island off the coast of Tenby in Pembrokeshire.
The island and all the properties on it are owned by a group of Cistercian monks and are visited by tens of thousands of tourists every year.
Along with the monks, there are lay people who live and work there.
From the late 1960s until 1992, a resident monk, Father Thaddeus Kotick, sexually abused children who lived and visited the island. said one reviewer.
Rebecca is one of 16 survivors who have shared their stories with consultant social worker John Pickles, who was commissioned by Abby to write the review.
Kotak would prepare Rebecca and the other children with the promise of sweets, chocolates and other gifts.
Then he would abuse them.
“I tried to run, but I couldn’t,” Rebecca said.
“His hands were really rough and he was holding me really tight. It hurt.”
RebeccaRebecca said the abuse on Kalde continued throughout her life and the effects have been lifelong.
As a teenager, he had feelings of self-loathing and worthlessness, and could not make friends.
His emotions led him to self-harm and even make several suicide attempts.
“I don’t know how I survived, it was terrible,” she said.
As an adult it has affected his ability to work and trust people.
She said she “probably wouldn’t be here” if it weren’t for her husband.
Rebecca was one of six women who received a “modest” amount of compensation from Abi in a civil suit in 2017, but it came without an apology.
He said it felt like a “hush money”.
“Many cover-ups over the years have made the effects of the abuse a million times worse,” added Rebecca.
“I felt victimized time and time again by the way we were all treated.
“You go back to feeling. [like] Those victims when you were little children, helpless.”
John Pickles, the author of the report, said the abbey had responded “callously” to victims who were “very vulnerable and very damaged” at “the hands of a monk, part of his community”.
Rebecca said the review “did justice to the truth of it” and Abbott’s apology was better than nothing but came too late.
She said: “To learn that the abuse goes back to the 1960s, I feel even more angry and upset, because how many times could they have done something about it?
“I don’t think they are men of God.
“They’ve never been, they answer to no one. It’s hypocrisy at its worst. They’re living a lie.”
The review outlined several missed opportunities, and said there appeared to be a failure of leadership at the highest level.
She said that the repeated and persistent allegations of sexual assault against Kotak were not reported to the authorities as required by law at the time.
In addition, the review said the “unnecessary hostile response” has further harmed victims and their families.
“This strategy has seen Abiy’s approach as hostile and cruel,” he said.
Two of the three attorneys representing the victims described the responses from Abbey and his legal team as “the most hostile” they had received from any organization.
One of the survivors was also threatened with legal action and another was described as a “fantasist”, the review found.
The review said other sex offenders had served time on Calday, including Paul Ashton, who lived there for seven years. Using an alias while running from the police.
He had unrestricted access to the IT system and used it to download indecent images of children.
A visitor who discovered his true identity reported to the police and was later jailed.
The viewer believed he was running a child pornography distribution network from the island, posing as a cleaning company.
The review also described inconsistent arrangements around tenancies and employment on the island.
It said tenancies for houses owned by the Abbey were granted and withdrawn “for unknown reasons”.
It said unstable conditions, irresponsible decisions and a lack of formal rights “contributed to Abi’s reliance on goodwill”.
This meant that people living there would be reluctant to do anything that would risk losing their homes or jobs.
Father John Rosie, who took on the role of abbot last year, said protection was now his priority and he had taken steps to ensure a proper response to any allegations.
“I offer my sincere apologies,” he said.
“I’m very sorry for all the suffering but even after that [victims] Not being heard.
“It’s heartbreaking to read these stories.”
12 recommendations have been made in the report which will be fully implemented.
Father John said improvements had already been made, including mandatory DBS checks as well as safety training for everyone on the island.
Details of organizations providing information and support for victims of child sexual abuse are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.