Child Abuse Victim Tells James O'Brien How He Caught His Tormentor
10 August 2018, 14:23
Michael in Harrow felt compelled to ring James O'Brien and share his story of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his old priest, before going on to describe how, 20 years on, he caught his tormentor.
After James O'Brien responded to the report that his old school, Ampleforth, covered up "appalling" abuse of pupils, the phone lines lit up with people wanting to share their experiences of child abuse.
And Michael in Harrow rang James to share the extraordinary story of how he caught his abuser.
Michael started by describing the abuse he suffered at the hands of his old priest: "I was molested by a Catholic Priest...when I was 13, 14. I didn't really understand it... It happened to myself and my brother and we kind of froze a bit. We couldn't talk about it and so we left it."
He then told James how he moved to London to train as a social worker but discovered that his abuser also lived in the city and was now receiving psychotherapy.
"I arranged to meet him... I said I'm going to pop in and see you for coffee. I had a mini tape recorder in my pocket, I confronted him and he spilled like a baby. You would have thought he was the victim.
"I sat on the tape for a few years and then in the mid-90s... I contacted the Metropolitan Police... and they arrested him. He was a prolific paedophile, it went to court 20 years ago and he was convicted, repatriated to Ireland where he faced numerous other court cases."
Stunned at the honesty of the call, James said: "What an amazing story. What an amazing story. And one with, for want of a better word, a happy end - it's a story with justice."
Listen to the extraordinary call in full above.
