I hope this is news that gives you all hope and at the very least some satisfaction.

It was 17th Oct 2004 that I made my statement of complaint to the Police against the person that abused me way back in 1969.

It's been a long wait, but I was in Crown Court today ready to give evidence. The case was estimated to last 4 days.

The day started off very slowly and I had a real mix of emotions & mood swings.

The police were nearly 2 hours later than scheduled for the statement review. This was because the defence wanted to split the 2 cases apart.

I thought I was about to be called to give evidence, when the case was deferred again. The 3rd person to make a statement was present in court & the judge was being petitioned to allow his evidence to be heard.

There was further deferral & we began to wonder what was happening.

It seems that the defence barrister had realised that the case was a looser from the start!

The police had already stated that the evidence was so strong that they were expecting a positive result!

Around 14:30 this afternoon, I was informed that it was all over. The perv had admitted all 5 charges laid against him (4 for myself & 1 for the second person that complained).

He has finally admitted guilt and will be sentenced week commencing 13th of Feb (strange 13 was always my lucky number). I don't know what the sentence will be, but I am going to attend court to see the final day of justice.

I realise that he has only admittted guilt now in the hope of a reduced sentence - do I care - HE IS GOING TO JAIL.

All of the heartache that I have endured over the years, has finally been handed right back to where it belongs!

I thank every single one of you here for the support I have received over the last 2 years. This is not just a personal victory, I claim it for all of us! I also claim it for the lost boys that didn't make it through!

I had my photograph with the names of 189 direct supporters surrounding it, my Dad's ID tag from the Second World War, my Mother's eternity ring, my dog's name tag, my carved silver half dollar, my hotwheels car and a plastic scorpion with me ready to go into court - they must have brought me some luck!

I also gave each of my 3 friends that gave supportive statements, a hot wheels car each - they were also going to take them in to court when it was their turn. *3 friends were the first people that I ever told & they wrote statements stating how my character had changed since disclosing.

A special thanks also goes to those of you who have given me additional support over the last few days - I really needed it! You know who you are!!

My head is mush now, I just can't take it in - a result!!!

Survivors 1 : Pervs 0

Best wishes and a further thanks to you all...Rik

Rik, lucky 13 is one of my lucky numbers.

Maybe because of all my prior bad luck.
I am glad it did not go to jury, as it would have been immensely challenging emotionally, especially if it had went for him, not you.

Grrrrrrrrr8 News.

It further hurts all the perps who havent been collared yet,

ste

BTW,

I bet his surname started with the letter,

A,D,F,H,P or R

Am I right?

YES!! My lucky number is 13 as well

Courage-Wisdom-Spirituality

Wonderful News!! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Bobby

If you add up todays date;

23+
01+
26=
---
50
---

2+3+1+2+6=14

add one to the four, and you get 5

1=a
2=b
3=c
4=d
5=E

E is for EVIL

Funnily enough

13+
02+
26=
---
41
---

4+1=5=E

Yeah, I crunch numbers in my head, but 0=0 in the alphabet so discount it in dates,

ste

Great news Rick and a result for us all. I can hear the relief in your post.

Kirk
"Lets take this bull by the horns and swing it around a bit" - Kirk

Rik,

I wept when I read your post. Thank-you for your courage and strength. This means so much to so many.

Wow!

Lots of love,

John

Well this is nothing short of a miracle.
Sheer Grace!

One more thing, now that your abuser is going to spend the rest of his life in a prison cell, may Lord grant him, His grace so that he sees the light that resides in him, and may his soul find redemption thru your forgiveness and grace.

Glad to hear it Rick, you deserve justice, we all do.

Rik,

I just can't believe it! Congratulations! Wow. It's almost unbelievable that it's all over now, except for the sentencing. I hope you will let us know how this all ends.

And you are so right:

I am so pleased for you.

Much love,
Larry

THANKS Rik! That's great news!

Rik,

Oh wow! Thank you so much for doing this. Hope the perv gets a long sentence.

Another one bites the dust.

With admiration and thanks to a brave man,

Zipser

Rik
What a good cry you sent my way today.
Great News.
I was born on a Friday the 13th so of course my luck # is 13.
Tom

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!
Thanks, Rik, for standing tall on our behalf. We all can share a small piece of this victory which you won for yourself and for all brothers here.
God Bless,
Love, etc.,

Thanks everyone for your comments and ongoing support - you are all priceless to me!

Ste - you are right about his surname starting with 'F'. *And the sun is back in the sky for me, though I didn't drop the charges.

His name is James Fowler (I can print this now as he has admitted what he has done).

Today there was a report in our regional paper The Northern Echo (bottom of page 5) which is circulated through out County Durham (there are different issues, so it is the one circulated around the Darlington/Bishop Auckland areas that contains the article). The article has a very bold heading, that draws the eye directly towards it. Text extends to around 300 words. Court was Durham Crown Court.

The local free paper, Town Crier will also be publishing details as they were also present in Court. *Several people have called into their office to ensure that they are publishing on this subject (including myself).

Whatever the sentence now, I don't care - he will not be getting his perverted hands on anyone else!

Now that I am getting over the shock of achieving this result, I am so much happier. One friend was off work today, so we went out for a Chinese Buffet Lunch... at one point he looked at me and said.. 'at last, it's just like having the old you back'!

I'm a bit tired now, with all of the pressure that built up over the last few months, but at least I can sleep peacefully in my bed!

Thanks again for your support - I could not have done this without you!

Best wishes ...Rik

One thing I forgot to add! When we left the court building, I went to a local bar/pub with 3 of my friends - they had a pint each, I just had orange as my head was already mush. When we walked away from the bar, the jukebox started playing 'You'll never walk alone'...how true!

Best wishes ..Rik

*I've also received some very positive phone calls today.

I found him on courtserve, but could not find anything in durham news.

I hope he gets a bigger spread when he is sentenced.

It should not have been on page5, it shows how small the press think it was.

The difficulty is, that he will be sentenced I think, on the older sentencing, which is more lenient than current law.

Let us know what he gets,

ste

BTW, has he left the community yet?

Rik,

I wonder how he feels now that he is a convicted pedophile who can be identified as such by anyone who cares to check for his name? Again, congrats. I know this was so much work for you, and the emotional drain must have been terrific.

Much love,
Larry

Ste - I cannot find a suitable link for the Northern Echo that actually informs on this case, although there are links at http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk

If you can wait until Friday 27th (possibly Saturday the 28th) this weeks edition of the Town Crier will be on the net. *please note that each page is numbered, and not necessarily displayed in the same order that it is printed.

http://www.shildontowncrier.com is the web address.

Best wishes ...Rik

Rik
what great news, you deserve it.

you've done a brave thing and shown the world that Rik is the man he was always destined to be.

Take care friend.

Dave

Thanks again for your supportive comments - it still has really sunk in yet?

Just to let you know that the Town Crier has now been publidhed! You may be interested to read page 3 of this weeks issue. Page one also highlights some paedophile issues, but they are not related!

http://www.shildontowncrier.com

*be patient, it's a bit slow opening!

Best wishes ...Rik

Rik,

Went to the link and it was well worth the wait for the page to open.

Bravo and well done.

Zipser

Rik,

This is good news! Almost gives me the courage to drag a certain perp's sorry ass out of his nursing home bed and into the court room. But he is already out of commission so I wonder if he would be worth spending my energy on?

Anyway, congratulations!

Darrel

Wow, newspaper you can actually download and keep.
Yes, I read it, he probably pleaded guilty knowing that there are others who did not come forward.

From experience I know they dont just get a few, but many.

He will go down and although the sentence will be lighter because he finally admitted it, he took it to the wire and even had the jury go through the hurt of having to face that type of trial.

You can only hope that the judge realises the depth of degradation he has caused,

ste

Thanks again for your supportive comments.

I have spoken to the police again today, and have only just spoken to my sister - I have now realised that I also knew the third survivor as a child! He has 2 forenames and currently uses the second one as his name - when we were children, he used the first one.

Through talking to my sister I realised that I used to hang around with him when I was probably about 10. We stopped hanging around together when the street that he lived in was demolished & he moved to the opposite end of the town. My sister also used to babysit him and his sister on a Saturday night.

Apparently he is in a right mess at the moment. I have told the police that I don't mind if he wants to contact me directly. I will now inform them that I have made the connection with his name, and that may make him feel more comfortable speaking to me. If he has someone to talk to directly, hopefully that can alleviate the way he is feeling now. I have had four years of recovery (initially very slow) including 2 years here. From what I understand, he has only just spoken up for the first time in December (similar age to myself, just a bit younger). Perhaps I could speed up his recovery process & let him know that he is not alone. The choice is obviously his, but I have made the offer!

What I would do to be let loose with a red hot poker!

Best wishes....Rik

Rik,

This whole thing is such a triumph for you and all of us are so proud of you. So should you be! My T tells me that abusers tend to be serial abusers, so who knows how many boys you have saved by your perseverance.

And on top of that you have connected with a fellow victim whom you knew as a boy. It's just great.

Much love,
Larry

Rik,

"Apparently he is in a right mess at the moment".

Firstly this is Danger with warning lights flashing.
I guess the cops have not got him any help from professionals.

Tell the cops that he will need you to be there, or somebody with knowledge of trauma.

I think he should stay away from the court on sentece day, and maybe you too, if you feel shaky, but I guess you want to see his sorry face go down.

What I would do to be let loose with a red hot poker!

God what I wanted to do with a poker when I stoked the coal at home, I knew exactly where to put it.

What would I do to be in court to watch his ass quaking!
Durham is not that far in a car, but I aint got one.

We could all have had a celebration together.
One thing to think about, is to be careful of emotional thoughts throughout.

Keep safe in yourself, and come here more often to thresh out those thoughts.

Your T should have warned on emotional rollercoaster you my find yourself riding.
Keep safe,

ste

BTW, I hope the press get a shot of him going into the court, because he will be carted off in a dog van.
If he lands in Durham jail, it will be Hell fire on Scorched Earth for him.

All this from ste, who does not believe in retribution to keep myself safe in mind, oh well.

Ste - both myself and the 3rd Survivor will be attending for sentence. I don't feel shaky at all - all of that negative electricity that has been floating around my body is back in the National Grid (hope the power surge didn't blow too many street lights).

The good thing about Durham Crown Court, is that it has a back door that leads straight out into the jail!

Do not pass go, and do not collect £200! He used to like playing games - I'm sure he'll learn some new ones!

I want to see his bald head that he has covered with a wooly hat for as long as I can remember (nothing wrong with being bald, but he hates exposing his shiny dome).

Best wishes again ...Rik

Durham is known as one of this countrys toughest prisons, but I guess he wont be there long.

People in that place love shiny domes (Pun) intended., Wink Wink, say no more,

I guess he will top himself, my birthday is that week on the 17th, so I need some cheer,

ste

Larry

it is said that on average an abuser will abuse eight people before being caught. I hope that takes into consideration my original abusers stats. Im no good at maths but here is a rough breakdown.

When I knew Chris Denning in 1970 he was entertaining three boys a day.

So that 3 x 365 = 1095 offences

1970 to 2006 = 36

36 x 1095 = 39420

Ok lets round that up to 40,000

If allowing for a 50% error that leaves 20,000 and even if he did not abuse 20,000 that still leaves one hell of a lot of damaged individuals.

That is one frightening stat.

Kirk
"Lets take this bull by the horns and swing it around a bit" - Kirk

Just another update - on Monday after attending court, I e-mailed the Policeman that I first spoke to! The Person that took my statement and immediately got the whole thing rolling. I thanked him for believing me.

He's obviously been off work until last night & I've now had a really positive response from him. He, along with the rest of the local police, is very pleased that we got a result. They are pleased that a pervert that was previously unknown to them has been stopped in his tracks.

He thinks that others may now come forward and also expects that others who remain silent will achieve some closure.

His feedback also supports a resounding theme among the responses that I have received - that I am a very strong person. Maybe I am, but there have been times over recent years that I have felt like the weakest of the weak! I certainly didn't feel too strong on Monday, as I waited to give evidence - although I knew I was ready.

It still hasn't really sunk in - maybe I need to see the sentencing carried out & maybe then I will really believe that all of this has happened. I've just been in chill out mode since Monday.

Thnaks again for your support...best wishes ...Rik

Rik,

You must have been strung out like a piano wire on Monday! So it doesn't surprise me that you are still taking things on board right now.

Yes, you ARE a strong person. What we feel about ourselves and who we really are can be so different! All we have to do is trust ourselves and take those forward steps.

And look at the results. Your courage has stopped someone who may have been abusing lots of boys, and it is setting an example to others. They will see that they are not condemned to silence and that they too can seek justice.

As you take all this on board I think you are in for a VERY fulfilling week or so - and you deserve every moment of it!

Much love,
Larry

Happy Freedom!

Later today, it will be a week since the perv pleaded guilty. I am still having difficulty letting this result sink in. The only way that I can describe it, is: It's like being told you have some terrible disease that you will always have to live with, then going back to the doctor after a long, long time, worrying about the long-term implications to find out that you are actually OK after all and there is no problem.

Maybe when the sentencing is complete on 17th Feb, it will become more real!

Best wishes ...Rik

Rik,

I hope you got that date wrong, that is my birthday and I dont need that as a reminder of when I got born.

You may not see how I view events this way, but is sucks to have to go through that on my birthday, honestly, so hope it is delayed.,

ste