Sexually abused siblings sue Church of Scotland
- Published
Ian Samson attacked children at the Lord and Lady Polworth Children's House in Edinburgh
Three siblings are suing the Church of Scotland after being sexually abused by a care home worker.
The two men and a woman were attacked repeatedly by Ian Samson at Lord and Lady Polworth Children's House in Edinburgh.
The girl was forced to have an abortion after Samson raped her.
Samson was jailed in 2013 at the High Court in Edinburgh for 14 years after being found guilty of 22 serious sexual offences between the 1970s and 1990s.
Eight of these offences happened at the Kirk-run care home with others occurring at different locations across Edinburgh and the Lothians.
'Robbed childhood'
The siblings, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have now raised a civil action against the Kirk and have encouraged others to come forward.
In a statement released by their lawyers Digby Brown Solicitors, the siblings said: "That man was nothing short of evil.
"He robbed us of our childhood, our happiness and our future.
"He might have been jailed but we will never escape the torment of it all and it's possible we never will.
"There's no avoiding the memories of what we experienced, even trying to forget the snarl on his face."
The statement added: "The church is meant to protect lost and frightened children like we were and they had every chance to protect us yet did nothing.
"We know we weren't the only ones affected so if there's anyone else out there then I hope you find the courage to step forward too."
Hid in dog baskets
Samson worked at Lord and Lady Polworth as a superintendent along with his wife who worked there as a matron.
Some children hid in cupboards or in dog baskets to avoid the abuse.
Kim Leslie, specialist abuse lawyer and partner at Digby Brown Solicitors, is leading the civil action against the church.
She said: "Ian Samson was rightly jailed for abuse he inflicted upon children after exploiting his position with the Church of Scotland.
"Now that time limits on historic abuse cases have been lifted we are leading a number of civil actions on behalf of survivors who have bravely stepped forward.
"These claims are being rigorously pursued on the grounds of vicarious liability however it would inappropriate to disclose further details at this time."
A Church of Scotland spokeswoman said: "The abuses perpetrated by Ian Samson at Lord and Lady Polworth Home in the 1970s are matters which have been examined by the criminal courts and by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry and for which we have already expressed our deep regret.
"We take the safeguarding of children and adults in our care very seriously and after Ian Samson's crimes were uncovered and prosecuted, we opened an independent inquiry to see what we could learn from this tragic episode so that we could ensure that we are doing everything we can to follow the best current practices in safeguarding."
The spokeswoman said the church was unable to comment on the substance of the civil action but "would want to reiterate our full and heartfelt apology for the harm experienced by the actions of this individual to any child in our care at that time".