UNITED KINGDOM
Yorkshire Post
KNOWING that the man who subjected him to the most appalling abuse during his childhood is at last behind bars might just offer some comfort to Roy Blanchard. The fact that he has waited four decades to see such justice delivered, however, suggests it will be a crumb at best.
For in the intervening years, Mr Blanchard has been condemned to serve his own life sentence. His experience derailed his education and as an adult he grappled with alcoholism, doubtless in an attempt to drown his demons and the memories of the terror that clouded his formative years.
The man responsible for all this, Kenneth Endersby, was a monster. Even worse, he was a monster whose position as a choirmaster afforded him protection from the Church of England. When told of the abuse, local vicar Raymond Ward condemned Roy as a liar and a “filthy, disgusting and degenerate boy”.
The Church has since taken great strides toward ensuring that any inappropriate conduct is exposed, rather than concealed. It is also important to acknowledge that abuse arises in a variety of settings and that the Church is full of kind people who perform sterling work on a daily basis.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.