UNITED KINGDOM
Lexology
Bolt Burdon Kemp
Further questions are being asked in relation to an alleged cover up of child abuse which was endured by teenage public school boys at the hands of a British barrister, John Smyth QC, in the 1970s and the 1980s.
On behalf of the Iwerne Trust, John Smyth ran religious summer camps in the 1970s and early 1980s, which were attended by boys from elite public schools. It is alleged that Smyth subjected the school boys to horrific beatings in order to purge them of their “sins”.
Allegations of abuse emerged back in 1982 after one of Smyth’s alleged victims attempted to commit suicide. In response, the Iwerne Trust commissioned an internal inquiry into the abuse which was conducted by Mark Ruston, a Church of England vicar. The report detailed the prescribed punishments for “sins” such as masturbation and pride, 100 and 400 strokes respectively. It was reported that over a three year period, eight boys had received 14,000 lashes between them, with two of the boys being whipped 4,000 times each. The report also stated that these beatings were carried out while the boys were either naked or semi-naked in order to “increase humility”.
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