An independent review into allegations of child sexual abuse on Caldey Island, Wales found that a monk abused children over four decades “in plain sight,” with frequent allegations made but not reported to the police, according to The Guardian. The review was commissioned by Father Jan Rossey, who became the Abbot of Caldey Abbey in 2022, and he stated that safeguarding was now his priority, as reported by BBC News.
The review, led by consultant social worker Jan Pickles, revealed that from the late 1940s to 1992, resident monk Father Thaddeus Kotik groomed, raped, and sexually assaulted boys and girls on Caldey Island, targeting both visitors and residents, The Guardian reported. The report highlighted a “failure of leadership at the highest level within the order and abbey,” with repeated allegations of abuse by Kotik not being reported to authorities, according to Wales Online Cariad.
Victims who disclosed abuse were met with “denial, suspicion and a pervasive assumption that they were lying,” the review stated, as reported by BBC News. Abbot Rossey expressed “deep sorrow and regret” upon reading the review, acknowledging the great suffering of children abused by Kotik and the closed culture of secrecy that allowed the abuse to remain hidden, according to shropshirestar.com.
“On behalf of the monastic community, I sincerely apologise to all those who have been hurt and have suffered because of the abuse of Thaddeus Kotik and past failures in not protecting children and their families,” Father Rossey said, as reported by Wales Online Cariad. He added, “It is particularly odious when abuse is committed and hidden by people who are in positions of trust because of their monastic or priestly vocation,” according to Shropshire Star.
Since becoming abbot, Father Rossey has implemented measures to ensure the correct response to any allegations would be followed, BBC News reported. He stated that “many safeguarding improvements have been put in place,” including safeguarding training for all on the island and mandatory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, as reported by BBC News.
The review made 12 recommendations which Father Rossey said would be implemented in full, with oversight by a subcommittee that includes survivors scrutinizing the implementation, according to The Guardian. One recommendation was that “all informal contact” between monks and visitors should stop. Monks will not be allowed to pose for selfies with visitors, and under a “no touch” policy, accidental physical contact must be declared and recorded on the same day.
Rebecca, a survivor who lived on Caldey Island for the first five and a half years of her life, shared her experiences. She said that the abuse continued throughout her time on the island and its effects have lasted a lifetime. “The way I have been treated since has made the effects of the abuse a million times worse,” she said, as reported by BBC News.
“I tried to get away, but I couldn’t,” Rebecca said, highlighting the manipulation and control exerted by Kotik. “His hands were really rough and he was holding me too tightly. It hurt,” she added. Rebecca described feeling self-hatred and worthlessness as a teenager, leading her to self-harm and attempt suicide several times, BBC News reported. As an adult, she said the abuse has affected her ability to work and trust people. “I felt re-victimised over and over again by the way we were all treated,” she said.
Learning that the abuse went back as far as the 1960s made Rebecca feel “even more angry and upset, because how many times could they have done something about it?” she said. “I don’t think they’re men of God. They never have been, they don’t answer to anyone. It’s hypocrisy in the worst way. They’re living a lie,” she added.
Rebecca was one of six women to receive compensation from Caldey Abbey in a civil claim in 2017, but it came without an apology. She said the compensation had felt like “hush money,” as reported by BBC News. The review found that the abbey’s “unnecessary adversarial response” had further damaged victims and their families, describing the abbey’s approach as “hostile and cruel.” Two of the three solicitors representing victims described responses from Caldey Abbey and their legal team as “the most hostile” they had ever received from any organisation. One of the survivors was even threatened with legal action, and another was described as a “fantasist,” the review found, according to BBC News.
The review also examined how four other men accused or convicted of sexual offences were able to live on Caldey Island, including Paul Ashton. Paul Ashton lived on the island for seven years using an alias while on the run from police. He had unrestricted access to the IT system and used it to download indecent images of children. A visitor who discovered Ashton’s true identity informed police, and he was later jailed.
The review described the inconsistent arrangements around tenancies and employment on Caldey Island. Tenancies for the homes, owned by Caldey Abbey, were awarded and withdrawn “for reasons unknown,” contributing to a dependence on the abbey’s goodwill. This meant people living there might have been reluctant to do anything that might risk them losing their homes or jobs.
Allegations of child sexual abuse by Kotik were brought to the attention of the then abbot in the 1980s by a family, but he was not prosecuted before his death in 1992, according to BBC News. An adult witness saw Kotik sexually abusing a girl and wrote to the abbot saying, “This can’t go on,” but received no reply, The Guardian reported. The report criticized Father Daniel van Santvoort, Rossey’s predecessor as abbot, for his response to revelations of sexual abuse. Father Daniel still lives on Caldey Island.
Kevin O’Connell, founder of the Caldey Island Survivors Campaign, welcomed the review but said it did not go far enough as its recommendations were not legally binding. The Caldey Island Survivors Campaign wants a public inquiry into the abuse, as reported by The Guardian. The review recommended that survivors should sit on the island board.
Maria Battle, formerly the deputy children’s commissioner for Wales and chair of the safeguarding subcommittee for Caldey, said the recommendations would all be implemented, The Guardian reported. Father Rossey said he had put measures in place to ensure the correct response to any allegations would be followed, according to BBC News.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
