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Ampleforth-College-main-Test_article_image.jpg
Ampleworth College
UK News

Leading Catholic school closes after damning sex abuse report

by Eno Adeogun

Lawyers representing former students of Ampleforth College (pictured above) in North Yorkshire alleged the college, which St Martin's Ampleforth prep school is a part of,  turned a blind eye to offending over many years.

According to The Times, the prep school's building was put on sale with a guide price of £3.5m.

 

The pupils of the school - which has been based at Gilling Castle since 1930, will be transferred to a new junior house at the main school.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) investigated whether Ampleforth College and another Catholic school, Downside in Somerset failed to protect pupils from predators.

It's highly critical report found that monks at Ampleforth College and Downside hid allegations of "appalling sexual abuse" against pupils as young as seven to protect the church's reputation.

Allegations stretching back to the 1960s encompassed "a wide spectrum of physical abuse, much of which had sadistic and sexual overtones", the report stated.

One alleged offender at Ampleforth abused at least eleven children aged between eight and twelve over a "sustained period of time", but died before police could investigate.

"Many perpetrators did not hide their sexual interests from the children," the report found, allowing abusers at Ampleforth to prey on entire groups of pupils both outdoors and indoors.

"The blatant openness of these activities demonstrates there was a culture of acceptance of abusive behaviour," the report said.

The Catholic Church is one of 13 strands of public life being investigated for child protection failings by the IICSA.

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