A predatory paedophile responsible for a “campaign of rape against children” has been jailed for 27 years for abusing boys at a boarding school.
Keith Figes was a “housefather” at Berrow Wood School in Worcestershire and supposed to look after children with behavioural difficulties.
Instead he groomed the most vulnerable pupils there in the 1970s.
A warrant was issued for the arrest of co-accused Maurice Lambell, who failed to turn up to Worcester Crown Court.
Judge Martin Jackson told Figes he would likely die in jail.
Harrowing victim impact statements by Figes’ victims were read out, in which they told of the lifelong effects his abuse had on them – including one who said he felt safer in prison.
Figes and Lambell, who were convicted in July, bring the total of Berrow Wood staff brought before courts for physical and sexual abuse of pupils to nine.
The school in Pendock, between Tewkesbury and Malvern, opened in 1966 for “maladjusted” boys, who were sent by social services across England sometimes more than 100 miles from their homes.
Tuesday was the third time Figes had been brought before a court for sexually abusing children, the last time in 2000 when a judge gave him a suspended sentence after hearing he was a “reformed character”. He had previously served time in prison.
The court heard Figes would prey on the youngsters at night and invite them into his bedroom where the abuse would get progressively worse.
After leaving Berrow Wood, he went onto Badgeworth School in Cheltenham where he abused more boys, and also two more children’s homes in the West Midlands.
Prosecuting, Simon Spence KC said Figes’ time at Berrow Wood was “the beginning of a campaign of serious sexual abuse as he went from school to school targeting institutions where vulnerable young boys should have been looked after”.
Figes’ own defence barrister, Daffyd Enoch KC, said the case made for “grim listening” and that his crimes were “abhorrent”.
One of Figes’ victims told the BBC his life had never been the same since he was abused and that he had lived with the horrors every day.
James, not his real name, said he spent years in prison because “no one could touch me inside”.
He said his safe haven was an 8ft by 10ft shed, filled with historical memorabilia at the bottom of his garden, as it gave him the comfort of a cell.
“Every time I put my head on the pillow all I can see is that school,” he said.
“I’d like someone to say sorry. Now that they’ve found out that I’m not a liar, it is a weight off my shoulders.”
Judge Martin Jackson said Berrow Wood pupils suffered a “regime of brutality” and a “culture of abuse” in which Figes, who was in his 20s at the time, played a significant role.
Figes, of Bourton, Dorset, was charged with 46 separate offences against four victims. On the first day of his trial, he pleaded guilty to 11 offences against four victims, including indecent assault and buggery, which was accepted by the court.
Lambell, 69, of Platt Fold Street in Wigan, denied 30 offences including indecent assault but was found guilty by a jury. His crimes stretch back to the 1960s.
The school closed in 1992 and the first police investigation into abuse by staff started shortly after.
Det Insp Mark Walters, who led the investigation, said he was “pleased that justice has finally been done for the survivors of Figes’ institutionalised abuse”.
He said he and Lambell “abused their positions of trust to commit abhorrent crimes against young and vulnerable boys who they were supposed to be caring for”.
“The abuse has had long-lasting effects on the mental and physical health of many of the victims and the trauma is something which will live with them all forever.”
He urged people who had been victims of non-recent child abuse to come forward to police.
“You will be listened to and your experiences will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.”
If you have suffered abuse at the hands of Figes or would like to discuss experiences, please contact out specialist child abuse solicitor, Charles Derham on the following: