A trial has opened into allegations that a care home manager in West Yorkshire sexually abused vulnerable children over a period of almost two decades, using his position of power to isolate and manipulate them.
Unfettered Access to Vulnerable Children
The jury at Bradford Crown Court heard that Malcolm Phillips, 92, is accused of using children for his sexual gratification at Skircoat Lodge care home in Halifax. The alleged abuse is said to have occurred between 1976 and 1994.
Prosecutor Michelle Colborne KC said Phillips was the manager from when the home opened in 1976. It was a residential temporary home for children subject to care orders. Ms Colborne told the court the children were often vulnerable, having suffered previous abuse, or were "simply unwanted, marked as troublemakers in the system".
Phillips, who has been deemed unfit to stand trial, is now subject to a trial of facts. A separate trial is being heard for his former assistant, Linda Brunning, 66, who is accused of assisting him and of indecently assaulting one boy herself.
A Regime of Fear and Manipulation
The court was told Phillips lived in a flat that led directly to the girls' bedrooms, giving him "unfettered access". Female complainants described being told to wear nighties to bed and then Phillips entering their rooms at night to indecently assault them.
Ms Colborne stated: "During the course of almost two decades Malcolm Phillips used his power to isolate specific children to use for his sexual gratification, and he wasn't the only one."
She described Brunning as a "large and domineering woman who took pleasure in humiliating children" and who allegedly facilitated Phillips's assaults. The prosecutor said the defendants, who had access to the children's files, carefully selected victims they believed could be manipulated.
Key tactics used to control the children included:
- Threatening to withhold pocket money.
- Warning that family visits would be cancelled.
- Telling them no one cared about them and that they would not be believed.
Ms Colborne added that children who ran away were "taken straight back by police, accused of being troublemakers".
Detailed Allegations Emerge in Court
One complainant, sent to the home as a teenager in the late 1970s, recalled the night-time assaults. Another, who was just ten years old at the time, alleged Phillips sexually assaulted her on at least ten occasions. The court heard Phillips had "taken her under his wing" and referred to her as one of his "special girls".
Malcolm Phillips, of Tyseley, Birmingham, faces a total of twelve charges:
- Three counts of indecent assault.
- Two counts of indecency with a child.
- Three counts of indecent assault on a male person.
- Two counts of buggery.
- Two counts of rape.
Linda Brunning, of Sowerby Bridge, near Halifax, faces five charges:
- One count of indecent assault on a male person.
- Two counts of aiding and abetting indecent assault.
- Two counts of aiding and abetting buggery.
The trial at Bradford Crown Court continues.
