Former care home owner John Allen jailed for life over child abuse

Allen used the homes as a "front", Judge Openshaw told the court

A paedophile who used his children’s homes as a “front” for abuse has been handed a life sentence.

John Allen was last week found guilty of committing historical sexual offences against 18 boys and one girl, aged between seven and 15, at his residential care homes based in Wrexham, North Wales between 1968 and 1991.

The 73-year-old of Ipswich, Suffolk, had no child care qualifications when he established Bryn Alyn Community. The majority of the abuse took place at three homes - Bryn Alyn, Pentre Saeson and Bryn Terion. He continues to deny all the charges put against him.

At the height of his business, 14 different local authorities from across the country sent 120 boys into Allen's care, and some girls were later also given accommodation, Mold Crown Court heard.

Mr Justice Openshaw said most of the complainants came from “dysfunctional, chaotic” backgrounds and were in need of care and protection, but instead were subjected to a regime of violence and intimidation by a “powerful man” whom one victim described “as like a god”.

In what the Crown said was a “highly sexualised atmosphere”, Allen committed many of his offences in the presence of other boys who did not speak out because of their fear and isolation.

Sentencing Allen, Mr Justice Openshaw said: “There have no doubt been more prolific offenders but seldom can there be so many grave offences committed on so many victims over a long period of time, causing so much anguish and misery.”

He said that, “remarkable as it may seem”, there were no regulations requiring Allen to have formal training “in those far-off days”.

Allen must serve a minimum of 11 years in jail before he can be considered for release. He received concurrent terms of 10 years for 23 indecent assaults and two years for an act of gross indecency with a child, and was cleared of two other serious sexual assaults.

The jury could not reach verdicts on three counts of indecent assault and one count of indecency with a child. All those charges were allowed to lie on file.

He is the first person to be prosecuted following Operation Pallial, which was launched by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in 2012 to investigate allegations of historic sexual abuses at children’s homes.

Following the publication of the Waterhouse report into abuse in north Wales care homes in 2000, more victims came forward. But the case did not proceed, as it is understood a Crown Court judge ruled that Allen would not receive a fair trial because of previous publicity about his convictions.

But he was re-arrested and charged by officers from the NCA's ongoing Operation Pallial inquiry into historical sexual abuse at care homes in North Wales after a complaint about him in November 2012, which then led to more complainants coming forward.

The jury were alerted to Allen’s conviction 1996 of indecently assaulting six boys, aged between 12 and 16, at his care homes in the 1970s, and was jailed for six years. Allen maintains that there was a miscarriage of justice.

The judge added many of the complainants have led sad and troubled lives as a result.

Many spoke positively though about the way they had treated by the justice system after coming forward and felt vindicated by the jury's verdicts, the court heard.

Jon Brown, NSPCC lead for tackling sexual abuse, said: “John Allen's reign of terror over a dark period of several decades puts him high up the scale of the most prolific child abusers of recent times and his sentence quite rightly reflects the severity of his despicable crimes.”

Additional reporting by PA