Edward Stanton 72

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A terrified boy sexually abused at a hellish children's home would sleep outside in the cold to escape his tormentor.

Edward Stanton raped and molested youngsters in his care at the infamous St Vincent's home in Formby from 1976 to 1995.

The former house master was jailed for 13 years in 1996 for sexual offences committed against seven boys, aged between 10 and 13.

The 69-year-old was back in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court today after being found guilty of two more sex attacks last month.

They related to a 13-year-old boy, who he twice indecently assaulted in the early 1980s, leaving the victim with psychological scars he bears to this day.

Stanton, formerly of Kirkdale, but now of Earle Road, Wavertree, had claimed someone else was responsible for the abuse.

The court heard the first attack took place when the boy returned from a period of home leave and Stanton pretended to search him for cigarettes, then put his hand down his trousers and touched his genitals.

A terrified boy sexually abused at a hellish children's home would sleep outside in the cold to escape his tormentor.

Edward Stanton raped and molested youngsters in his care at the infamous St Vincent's home in Formby from 1976 to 1995.

The former house master was jailed for 13 years in 1996 for sexual offences committed against seven boys, aged between 10 and 13.

The 69-year-old was back in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court today after being found guilty of two more sex attacks last month.

They related to a 13-year-old boy, who he twice indecently assaulted in the early 1980s, leaving the victim with psychological scars he bears to this day.

Stanton, formerly of Kirkdale, but now of Earle Road, Wavertree, had claimed someone else was responsible for the abuse.

The court heard the first attack took place when the boy returned from a period of home leave and Stanton pretended to search him for cigarettes, then put his hand down his trousers and touched his genitals.

"He describes the defendant as controlling and frightening. He was terrified. He felt he had nowhere to run. He often absconded and would sleep in the cold and felt that was safer than being at St Vincent's."

The prosecutor said the now adult suffered from attacks of depression and anxiety with which he struggled to cope.

He had an "emotional breakdown" when he self-harmed and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he starved himself.

Mr Polglase said the victim also suffered nightmares and night terrors "where he calls out for his mum".

The court heard Stanton was jailed for 16 months in February 2013 for possessing indecent images of children and for two years in July 2016 for similar offences.

Mr Polglase said he was then jailed for two years in January 2018 for breaching his Sexual Offences Prevention Order and possessing further indecent images.

The court heard these images depicted both boys and girls being sexually abused.

Arthur Gibson, defending, accepted his client "undoubtedly" caused the victim psychological harm, but said the boy also had other issues not connected to Stanton.

He acknowledged that the victim was "forced to give evidence", but suggested if Stanton had also been sentenced for this abuse in 1996, it probably wouldn't have increased the sentence he received then any further.

Judge Robert Trevor-Jones told Stanton: "Of course in having a trial you forced the victim to undergo again a renewed ordeal by attending court and giving evidence and of course being branded a liar in the process."

The judge said Stanton "completely breached" his pastoral responsibilities as a house master at St Vincent's by targeting the vulnerable child and molesting him.

He said: "The short term impact upon him was to instill him with fear and panic about being in the institution.

"It led to him beginning a regular pattern of absconding and it seems some minor offending, which continued until he was told he need not return at St Vincent's."

Judge Trevor-Jones said the boy was left with a continuing impact of his "terrifying ordeal" until he confided in his wife and reported the abuse in 2017, which led to Stanton's arrest in April 2018.

Referring to the other seven boys he had abused at St Vincent's, some of whom he raped, the judge said: "Your predatory conduct there was out of control."

Judge Trevor-Jones told Stanton his three convictions for indecent images of children revealed "how entrenched your perverted attitudes are".

He said: "You still maintain your innocence of these two assaults. You accept you're sexually attracted to young children and you've undertaken several sexual offending programmes over the time, but clearly with very little impact."

The judge noted Stanton's health problems, including insulin dependence, kidney disease and high blood pressure, but said he had caused his victim "ongoing psychological damage".

He jailed him for three and a half years and told him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

The ECHO has previously reported how dozens of children's lives were destroyed by paedophiles who worked at St Vincent's and also St Aidan's in Widnes, and documented the brave victims' fight for justice.

The now closed homes, both run by Liverpool charity the Nugent Care Society, formerly Catholic Social Services, were intended to give troubled boys care, education and safety .

But the reality was prison-like regimes of beatings and sexual abuse likened by one survivor to the film Scum, about the infamous Borstal young offenders institute.

In St Vincent's, principal Alan Langshaw and lab technician Stanton were launching vile attacks on boys in their care, while at St Aidan's head master Terence Hoskin and teacher Colin Dick were also convicted of abuse.