Knottfield: Joseph Marshall jailed for six years for sexually abusing boys

Joseph Marshall was found guilty of five offences

A former manager of a children's home who sexually abused boys has been jailed for six years.

Joseph Marshall, now 85, abused two boys aged under 16 at Knottfield in Douglas between 1974 and 1982.

Passing sentence at Douglas Courthouse, Deemster Bernard Richmond QC said Marshall had "violated" his position of trust "deliberately, consistently and remorselessly".

The boys had been "amongst the most vulnerable" people in society, he said.

Marshall's trial heard he sexually assaulted his victims during baths and in his locked office.

He was found guilty in December of three indecent assaults and two counts of gross indecency against two boys.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, one said he had lived a "life of silent shame" and reliving the events over the last several years had created a "fresh hell" because Marshall could not "admit the truth".

'Ongoing shame'

The hearing was told Marshall had previously been jailed in 1992 for 13 offences of indecent assault against other boys at the home, but had then turned down the chance to have "cleaned the slate" by confessing to the further offences.

Deemster Richmond told Marshall he had implemented a "persistent, organised and perverse targeting of boys who you knew were at your mercy", adding: "No child was safe from you."

He said Marshall's conduct at Knottfield was "a matter of ongoing shame", and the sentence could not "even begin to reflect the pain you have caused".

He also criticised a Tynwald inquiry into Knottfield and comments about Marshall made by the island's chief constable and the attorney general.

The comments were in relation to a 2020 defence application for a stay of the prosecution due to the publicity surrounding the inquiry, which was later denied.

The deemster said while it was "unwise" for people in senior positions to "make public comments as they did", they had ultimately not affected the "integrity" of the inquiry.

In a statement, senior investigating officer Insp Neil Craig said Marshall's behaviour was "deplorable, and showed a complete and utter disregard for the victims".

He said: "He likely believed that the passage of time would allow his offending to remain undetected, however as a result of this investigation he is now having to face the consequences of his actions."

Insp Craig also praised the the bravery of the victims in coming forward and testifying in court, adding: "Without their courage, Mr Marshall is unlikely to have been found guilty of having offended against them.

"I hope that his sentencing will help of both them, and their families, to now be able to start to move forward with their lives."

He added that the Isle of Man Constabulary remained "committed to treating all reports of sexual offences seriously and with the utmost professionalism, thoroughness and with the aim of bringing any perpetrators of such crimes to justice".