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	'They Owned You and They Made Sure You Knew It' Case Study The Times November 26, 2009 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article6932801.ece John Kelly was just 13 years old when he was committed in 1963 to Daingean Reformatory School in County Offaly, for the crime of having accepted a stolen chocolate bar from his brother. "I was found guilty of receiving stolen goods but I was from a fractured family — my father was in England. Most of the other kids were orphans but we were all given criminal records. "I was raped and buggered in that place by at least four different Brothers. But in fact what was worse was living with the fear of never knowing when you would be attacked. "One night I got flogged naked with a leather strap, one Brother did that while three others watched. One of them stood on my fingers to stop me from running. The State allowed this to go on. Not one of them has been sent to prison or is likely to be charged. "I was only out of Daingean four days before I fled by boat to England. I felt safer sleeping on benches in Hyde Park. I was a refugee from my own country because of what they did to me. "They tortured you on a daily basis psychologically, saying, 'Your mum and your dad don't love you.' They owned you and they made sure you knew it. In fact they were so successful that during all my years in London I still believed them." Mr Kelly only returned to Ireland in 1998 when the veil of silence began to be lifted and inquiries began. He is now co-ordinator for Irish Survivors of Child Abuse. "I addressed all 32 bishops last month and told them: 'You weren't innocent bystanders in all this.' "The Church and the Pope still have a long way to go to make amends for all the suffering they caused."
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