Care worker who helped boss with child abuse jailed for 25 years

Two "thorough" investigations after then produced no prosecutions, she added.

In 2001, Phillips had been convicted of abusing eight girls at Skircoat Lodge in the 1970s and 80s and was sentenced to seven years in jail.

The home was for children aged four to 16 who were the subject of care orders and placed there for their own safety.

During the latest trial, the jury heard how children at the home were deprived of food and sleep, threatened that they would lose family visits and told nobody cared about them and no-one would believe them.

Victims described running away after being abused but then being taken straight back to the children's home by police and accused of being liars and troublemakers.

Three of the victims who waived their right to anonymity were present at the sentencing earlier. They were Kelly Lees, Karen Bentham and Angela Radford.

Kelly Lees was sexually abused by Phillips when she lived in the home from aged 11 in the 1990s.

She told the BBC she was "furious" that Phillips would not face prison after being deemed unfit for trial.

"I was a child and vulnerable. He abused so many on a daily basis.

"I feel sad that I've had to fight for so many years, I feel sad that I was isolated and I'm angry because I haven't had a proper childhood, of course I'm angry."

Kelly said she was targeted by Phillips, who described her as his "special girl" and abused her several times after telling her to do her homework in his office.

She started skipping school and running away, hoping the abuse would stop if she was not given any homework but would be quickly returned to Phillips by police.

Kelly spoke of struggling with survivor's guilt following her abuse.

"We couldn't have done more, we were children but that still comes.

"The only people who should be feeling guilty are Phillips, Brunning, social services who were around and the staff members and every other professional who knew."

Karen Bentham was sexually abused by Phillips as a 14-year-old in the 1990s.

She described being frustrated that Phillips did not have to attend court for the trial of facts and hear the evidence of his victims.

"It's disappointing because he's never been forced to take accountability for what he's done," she explained.

"He's never had to sit in the courtroom throughout the trial and listen to the damage that he's done to children."

Bentham said the verdicts had finally brought her some relief after 30 years of living with the trauma of the abuse.

"As a child, you learn that silence is the best so you carry that and then it becomes shameful," she said.

"It's been with me all my life but now I do feel like I can breathe.

"I feel free, I feel at peace and that is because I was believed and I was heard and I managed to tell my story."

Both women have urged other victims of abuse of Skircoat Lodge to speak to police about what happened to them.

"The survivors who have just gone through the same trial as myself; I hope that is a beacon of light for others," Karen said.

"You don't need to be silent anymore and you don't need to be that scared child anymore.

"Come forward, use your voice and tell your story because it needs telling and it deserves to be told."

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