Grace Dieu Manor School - Paedophilia Scandal

I'm sure most people that have delved into researching the numerous (institutionalised) child sex abuse scandals exposed over recent years in the UK will be familar with Grace Dieu Manor's history of paedophilia?

The abuse reportedly happened during the 50's - 70's but the case has only very recently come to light. (please bear with me there is a McCann case connection or two). The 11 men that claimed to have been abused are currently suing the Rosminians (aye another dodgy RC outfit!). Their claims appear to have been taken seriously, they've alledgy already recieved apologies from the English province of Rosminians.

Abused: Breaking the Silence
(BBC1) catalogued a devastating history of abuse at two boys' schools,
Grace Dieu Manor in Leicestershire and St Michael's in Soni, Tanzania,
that would never have been revealed had not a group of ex-pupils started
emailing each other about the sadism and sex abuse they had suffered at
the hands of several Catholic priests of the Rosminian order in the
1960s. As so often in films like this, where the depressing
repetitiveness of the abuse can be numbing, it was the more casual
remarks, such as "Soni broke my spirit" and "It was a violent, loveless,
sad place" that brought home the emotional damage. These men didn't
just want retribution for what they had suffered, they wanted to be
healed.

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Sadly, we know it didn't end there. In the decades that followed
Leicestershire became a hotbed of paedophilia within the children's
'care' system. Father Kit Cunnigham became the fall guy for much of this abuse. He took the rap & kept his mouth shut; he was also made to hand back his OBE. Alas, he 'confessed & repented' his guilt on his death bed. Bless, that's him absolved then - NOT!

I''ll cut to the chase here and leave folk to make their own mind up on whether the following info deserves specualtion or not.

Kate's uncle - Brian Kennedy has recently (last yr) become a director of the catholic children's school - Grace Dieu Manor (now age 3 -13) . The school is a private (ltd co) Does this mean Mr Kennedy has invested in this school? (he's also listed as director to several offshoots of this company)

I also remember reading, but can't find now so don't quote me! that Michael Linnett (very interesting character & director of Maddie fund) is on the board of governor's, or a some similar role at the same school? If anyone can help locate this info it would be much appreciated. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

One final connection: Haysmacintyre the London based firm, initial auditors in the Madeleine case? coincidently, they also work for the private company named Grace Dieu Manor.

Of course none of this means that the current folk in charge there have anything to do with the murky past of this school, So, here's my diisclaimer:

In no way am I connecting anyone currently involved with Grace Dieu Manor of being involved in past paedophilic activities at that school. For all I know, this new generation of philanthrapists might really have changed things? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

What is it about that whole Midlands area that's so steeped in paedophilia? In the seventies or eighties, there was a very extensive case in Cleveland, up to 400 children were taken into care by social services because of alleged sex abuse. It seemed idiotic to me at the time and the diagnostics they used at the time were in doubt. Moreover, many of the children were taken away from their parents in dawn raids, traumatic enough.
I haven't heard much more about this case, but wonder if any of the children have written about their experience, real or imagined by the social service.

Daisy you are right BK (uncle) was made a director last year and Michael Linnett is (or certainly was in 2006) a governor of the school.

"As another academic year draws to a close, and relative peace begins to
pervade the beautiful grounds at Grace Dieu, it is a happy duty for me to
acknowledge with gratitude the unswerving support of the governing body
for all that we endeavour to do here. Mr Michael Linnett and his team show
enormous dedication to the school, and, most importantly, to the children
entrusted to our care. My sincere thanks go to him and to them all."

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I'm posting this - partly snipped, full article in Wikipedia.

Cleveland child abuse scandal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cleveland child abuse scandal occurred in Cleveland, England in 1987, where 121 cases of suspected child sexual abuse were diagnosed by Dr Marietta Higgs and Dr Geoffrey Wyatt, paediatricians at a Middlesbrough hospital (in the now abolished county of Cleveland). After a number of court trials, 26 cases involving children from twelve families were found by judges to have been incorrectly diagnosed, and cases involving 96 of the 121 children alleged to be victims of sexual abuse were dismissed by the courts. In the other cases, the child was subject to a child-protection order, and some were removed from their parents' care permanently.
Some parents in this case directly engaged journalists in contesting the child-protection interventions. Media coverage focused particularly on a technique, known as reflex anal dilatation, that had been used to diagnose sexual abuse in some children. snipped.
The media also failed to report that some of the children's families had documented histories of abuse.[citation needed] Seventeen of the children lived with fathers or other relatives who had already been convicted of sexual offences, and several other children were outpatients after their parents had been registered as having harmed their children.[citation needed] However, of these families, most were subsequently cleared.
While in foster care the children continued to be regularly examined by Dr. Higgs. She subsequently accused foster parents of further abuse and they too were arrested.
Following the media outcry, a public inquiry was enacted, led by Elizabeth Butler-Sloss. The judicial inquiry found that the pediatricians had "acted properly" and the report supported the manner in which they had applied the reflex anal dilatation test. This finding contradicted the decision of the judges involved in the case, who had stated that the test was "controversial".[1]
On March 21, 2007, people affected by the scandal spoke on British daytime TV lifestyle show This Morning about what happened in 1987. During the interview it was revealed that Marietta Higgs is still in practice at a hospital in Gillingham in Kent. On May 21, 2007 Higgs said in an interview with BBC Look North that she would do the same again based on the facts and also said that she suspected the numbers being abused were even greater than the 121 named. unquote.

It seemed very doubtful to me at the time that the number of children abused was that great.However, clearly in some cases children were living with parents already convicted of abuse. How? What were the social services doing? What is clear from this that the media were misreporting the findings at the time. Sounds familiar.

In my earlier post I place Cleveland in the Midlands, it was in fact much further north and no longer exists.

The "Abused: Breaking the Silence" programme is available in four parts on YouTube. This is the first part.

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Michael Linnet is (or was) a trustee of the CCS, which seems to be supported by Margaret Hodge. Don't know if this is relevant but Murats sister in Devon is meant to run her own child adoption agency

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Interesting that there seems to be a lot of links/connections in one way or another to catholic children, priests with the directors or ex directors of Maddies Foundation. there is a common link but can't quite pinpoint it yet but its mystifying

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Nelson Kennedy

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Looking at all the Directors....Im starting to wonder whom really ruined the life of the Priest (forgot the name). My feeling it was not just the McCanns. There could be a bigger picture here.
It might involve more than just a confession....Who was leaning on who.

Daisy wrote:I'm sure most people that have delved into researching the numerous (institutionalised) child sex abuse scandals exposed over recent years in the UK will be familar with Grace Dieu Manor's history of paedophilia?

The abuse reportedly happened during the 50's - 70's but the case has only very recently come to light. (please bear with me there is a McCann case connection or two). The 11 men that claimed to have been abused are currently suing the Rosminians (aye another dodgy RC outfit!). Their claims appear to have been taken seriously, they've alledgy already recieved apologies from the English province of Rosminians.

Abused: Breaking the Silence
(BBC1) catalogued a devastating history of abuse at two boys' schools,
Grace Dieu Manor in Leicestershire and St Michael's in Soni, Tanzania,
that would never have been revealed had not a group of ex-pupils started
emailing each other about the sadism and sex abuse they had suffered at
the hands of several Catholic priests of the Rosminian order in the
1960s. As so often in films like this, where the depressing
repetitiveness of the abuse can be numbing, it was the more casual
remarks, such as "Soni broke my spirit" and "It was a violent, loveless,
sad place" that brought home the emotional damage. These men didn't
just want retribution for what they had suffered, they wanted to be
healed.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Sadly, we know it didn't end there. In the decades that followed
Leicestershire became a hotbed of paedophilia within the children's
'care' system. Father Kit Cunnigham became the fall guy for much of this abuse. He took the rap & kept his mouth shut; he was also made to hand back his OBE. Alas, he 'confessed & repented' his guilt on his death bed. Bless, that's him absolved then - NOT!

I''ll cut to the chase here and leave folk to make their own mind up on whether the following info deserves specualtion or not.

Kate's uncle - Brian Kennedy has recently (last yr) become a director of the catholic children's school - Grace Dieu Manor (now age 3 -13) . The school is a private (ltd co) Does this mean Mr Kennedy has invested in this school? (he's also listed as director to several offshoots of this company)

I also remember reading, but can't find now so don't quote me! that Michael Linnett  (very interesting character  & director of Maddie fund) is on the board of governor's, or a some similar role at the same school? If anyone can help locate this info it would be much appreciated.  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

One final connection: Haysmacintyre the London based firm, initial auditors in the Madeleine case? coincidently, they also work for the private company named Grace Dieu Manor.

Of course none of this means that the current folk in charge there have anything to do with the murky past of this school, So, here's my diisclaimer:

In no way am I connecting anyone currently involved with Grace Dieu Manor of being involved in past paedophilic activities at that school. For all I know, this new generation of philanthrapists might really have changed things?  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] John Linnett. Cant see him in the school connection. Still looking

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Thomas Abbott appointed as Director of NOTTINGHAM ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESAN TRUSTEES.
Appointed on the same day as Linnett and both from same area....If its worth anything.

Sarah Vraicht, mentioned by John Lowe in the Final Report has John Lowe as a friend on facebook.

He went to Grace Dieu Manor School

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tigger wrote:I'm posting this - partly snipped, full article in Wikipedia.

Cleveland child abuse scandal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cleveland child abuse scandal occurred in Cleveland, England in 1987, where 121 cases of suspected child sexual abuse were diagnosed by Dr Marietta Higgs and Dr Geoffrey Wyatt, paediatricians at a Middlesbrough hospital (in the now abolished county of Cleveland). After a number of court trials, 26 cases involving children from twelve families were found by judges to have been incorrectly diagnosed, and cases involving 96 of the 121 children alleged to be victims of sexual abuse were dismissed by the courts. In the other cases, the child was subject to a child-protection order, and some were removed from their parents' care permanently.
Some parents in this case directly engaged journalists in contesting the child-protection interventions. Media coverage focused particularly on a technique, known as reflex anal dilatation, that had been used to diagnose sexual abuse in some children. snipped.
The media also failed to report that some of the children's families had documented histories of abuse.[citation needed] Seventeen of the children lived with fathers or other relatives who had already been convicted of sexual offences, and several other children were outpatients after their parents had been registered as having harmed their children.[citation needed] However, of these families, most were subsequently cleared.
While in foster care the children continued to be regularly examined by Dr. Higgs. She subsequently accused foster parents of further abuse and they too were arrested.
Following the media outcry, a public inquiry was enacted, led by Elizabeth Butler-Sloss. The judicial inquiry found that the pediatricians had "acted properly" and the report supported the manner in which they had applied the reflex anal dilatation test. This finding contradicted the decision of the judges involved in the case, who had stated that the test was "controversial".[1]
On March 21, 2007, people affected by the scandal spoke on British daytime TV lifestyle show This Morning about what happened in 1987. During the interview it was revealed that Marietta Higgs is still in practice at a hospital in Gillingham in Kent. On May 21, 2007 Higgs said in an interview with BBC Look North that she would do the same again based on the facts and also said that she suspected the numbers being abused were even greater than the 121 named.  unquote.

It seemed very doubtful to me at the time that the number of children abused was that great.However, clearly in some cases children were living with parents already convicted of abuse. How? What were the social services doing? What is clear from this that the media were misreporting the findings at the time. Sounds familiar.

In my earlier post I place Cleveland in the Midlands, it was in fact much further north and no longer exists.

Reading this thread today as it was highlighted in the Debate Section, I thought I should draw attention to the ' Spotlight on Abuse' site and the article and video entitled "Cleveland:  Unspeakable Truths".  This is fascinating  and a real eye-opener.