Kincora boys' home: Sex abuse victims demand children's home is demolished

BBC News
April 28, 2015

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-32499325

Abuse victims Clint Massey and Gary Hoy say demolishing Kincora would bring closure

Former Kincora residents and supporters protested at the building today

Survivors of sex abuse at Kincora children's home in east Belfast have called for the building to be demolished.

Gary Hoy, who lived in Kincora, said the memories would always be there but he would like to see the building gone.

Survivor Clint Massey said demolishing the building would bring a kind of closure for victims like him.

Margaret McGuckian, of pressure group SAVIA, said they hoped to speak to the home's owners about the next step.

Three senior care staff at Kincora were jailed in 1981 for abusing 11 boys.

At least 29 boys were abused at the home between the late 1950s and the early 1980s.

One of the men who was later convicted, William McGrath, is believed to have been an MI5 agent.

Allegations remain that some members of the British intelligence services knew of the abuse and helped to cover it up.

Mr Massey said the building was "serving no purpose".

"While this is here, this building stands for one thing only - not happy memories at all. Once it's gone, it's a closure of sorts," he said.

Ms McGuickan said the victims "grieve every night" about the abuse they suffered in the home.

"What we're hoping [is] that we enter into consultations, and perhaps this building will be bought over, razed to the ground and maybe something could be set up in its place far away from here for the victims," she said.

There have been calls for the home to be included in a Westminster led inquiry into abuse at state run institutions.

The government declined to do so, saying child protection was a devolved matter and Kincora was covered by the work of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry led by retired judge Sir Anthony Hart.

Critics say that inquiry doesn't have the power to compel witnesses and won't get at the truth of alleged security service involvement. The government said it would ensure the sharing of information.