Face of Boy Abused in Elm House Scandal As Catholic Priest and Head of Boys" Home Are Arrested
Daily Mail
The first picture of Peter, whose tragic life was revealed by the Mail last Saturday, emerged today as two men were arrested by detectives investigating allegations that a VIP paedophile ring preyed on Grafton Close boys at the gay-friendly Elm Guest House in Barnes, South-West London. A former deputy head of Grafton Close, John Stingemore, 70, was detained during a dawn raid at his housing association flat in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, over claims he sexually abused several boys in his care three decades ago. A Roman Catholic priest from Norfolk – Father Tony McSweeney, 66 – was also arrested on suspicion of indecently assaulting boys at Grafton Close. McSweeney officiated at the 1990 wedding of boxer Frank Bruno and his former wife Laura, and was the ‘part-time’ chaplain at Norwich City Football Club.
Detectives are probing claims that several Establishment figures – including senior politicians, pop stars and police employees – abused under-age rent boys and children from Grafton Close at the Elm Guest House. Scotland Yard launched the child sex abuse inquiry, codenamed Operation Fernbridge, after Labour MP Tom Watson made a string of sensational allegations in the Commons last October.
Run by Indian-born Haroon ‘Harry’ Kasir and his German wife Carole, Elm Guest House was openly advertised in the gay press in the 1980s as a place where homosexual men could meet. Mrs Kasir died in 1990. Shortly after her death, a campaigner from the National Association of Young People in Care called for a criminal investigation into the case. He said he had been told by Mrs Kasir that boys had been brought in from a children’s home for sex. She had told him she had photographs or video of many Establishment figures at her hotel, including a bishop. One photograph allegedly showed a former cabinet minister in a sauna with a naked boy. Peter Hatton-Bornshin received ‘substantial compensation’ following his ordeal at Grafton Close. Tonight his stepfather, who asked not to be named, said he had placed Peter and his elder brother into care after their mother’s suicide in 1980. He said: ‘Every time I visited Peter in the home he was happy. ‘He never said a word about anyone being abused. There was no unhappiness whatsoever. When he came to stay with us, he was always laughing and joking. ‘It makes me shudder now with what has come out, but all I knew was that the head had been arrested for alleged child sex offences. ‘Peter looked younger than what he was and was a kind of Peter Pan character. He was a bit childish and found it hard to form relationships with girls.’
He said Peter had no interests at all, such as supporting a football team or other typical teenage pursuits, which he put down to his behavioural problems during childhood. He added: ‘Peter was always the blue-eyed boy in my eyes but he did act and look younger than his age. I just think he was very immature. When he was 20 he behaved like a 14-year-old.’ A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘Anyone who has been affected by or has information about activity in the early 1980s at the Elm Guest House or the Grafton Close care home should speak to the NSPCC on their helpline on 0808 800 5000, or their local police.’ A spokesman for Richmond council, which ran the home, said: ‘As the investigation is on-going, it would be inappropriate to comment.’
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