A LEADING child abuse campaigner has called the decision to dismiss compensation claims by residents at the former Lagarie children's home in Rhu a "kick in the teeth" for survivors.

Legal action was taken against the Sailors' Society, a Christian charity supporting the families of men working at sea, following a BBC Disclosure documentary in 2018 which revealed more than a dozen people were allegedly abused by staff at the facility near Helensburgh.

From 1949 up until the home's closure in 1982, hundreds of children were sent to live at Lagarie. Several told the BBC investigation programme that they had been victims of serious and sustained physical, sexual and psychological abuse.

Representatives for the Sailors' Society argued that a fair hearing of the claims was not possible because the principal alleged abusers, William and Mary Barrie, were dead and could not answer the allegations.

The compensation actions were dismissed by Lady Carmichael at the Court of Session, who said that the absence of evidence from the alleged abusers "is a fundamental barrier to a fair hearing".

Dave Sharp, whose mother died when he was born meaning he spent the first 16 years of his life in care, where he was abused at homes run by the Catholic Church in Fife, East Ayrshire and Midlothian, branded the judgement "disgraceful".

He told the Advertiser: "It was obvious this was going to happen.

READ MORE: Compensation claims dismissed over abuse claims at former children's home near Helensburgh

"If all the survivors of historical child abuse in Scotland were to come forward it would cost the government and the institutions hundreds of millions of pounds.

"This sends out a horrific message to survivors.

"This test case was not just about the money, it was about Scotland being seen to be doing things about these paedophile rings, but they've basically been given carte blanche. A lot of paedophiles in Scotland will be celebrating."

Dave, 63, won £70,000 in compensation for his own case, and used some of the money to set up campaign group SAFE (Seek and Find Everyone abused in childhood, Scotland) in 2017.

He has described the child sex abuse scandal as "Scotland's shame" and says the recent judgment regarding Lagarie will make it near impossible for victims to get justice, or to ever find closure.

He said: "What is so shocking here is that there have been many cases, including my own, where the main abuser had died years ago but lots of people have gone on to successfully claim criminal injuries and/or compensation.

READ MORE: Former Rhu children's home residents set to sue charity over abuse claims

"What has happened here is a disgraceful example of how easy it is, and how easy it is going to be, for these institutions to escape justice and keep the survivors out of the courts and to save as much money as possible. No one is going to be able to stop them.

"Everyone will lose complete faith in the system and the police and local authorities, and the biggest winners will be the paedophiles who carry on abusing our children.

"Scotland as a nation is going to have to live with this for a very long time because it has never learned how to deal with the issue of child sex abuse.

"No one reading this can say they are not aware that this is happening but as long as the people keep turning their backs it will continue."

A spokesperson for the Sailors' Society - which is no longer involved in running any children's homes - told the Advertiser that the current charity is "a very different organisation, and nobody involved in these historic events is connected in any way with the organisation now".

The spokesperson said: "This has been a very difficult process for everyone involved and this judgement is understandably disappointing for survivors.

READ MORE: BBC probe uncovers allegations of abuse at children's home near Helensburgh

"We have tried hard to manage a very complex and distressing situation involving events that occurred up to 60 or more years ago.

"We deeply regret that any child was abused at Lagarie and we have apologised unreservedly for any abuse that was suffered by children who were in the care of the British Sailors' Society (Scotland) at that time.

"In recent years we have worked hard to respond as fully as we can. We have met with survivors, kept up contact with survivors who have wanted contact with us, financed counselling, asked police to reopen their investigations and fully cooperated with the police and the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry."

In September 2018, days before the BBC's documentary was first broadcast, the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry announced that Lagarie was one of three former children's homes in Helensburgh and Lomond to be investigated as part of its probe into historic allegations of abuse across the country.

St Andrew's School in Shandon and the Cardross Park Assessment Centre were also part of a list of 17 institutions across Scotland which the inquiry team said it would be "investigating as part of its ongoing work".

The inquiry has yet to reveal the outcomes of any of the investigations into the Helensburgh and Lomond institutions.

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