A pervert scout leader who sexually abused five boys in the 1970s has been jailed after a victim watched a child rape storyline on ITV's Emmerdale and called police.
Steven McNally, 67, carried out the abuse when he ran Bishop’s Own Troop in Nottingham and worked at Nazareth House Children’s Home in Lenton. Between 1974 and 1979 he sexually abused five boys who were aged between five and 15.
McNally’s crimes went undetected for 37 years until one of his victims, now an adult, watched a paedophile storyline on Emmerdale in 2016. The harrowing plot in the soap featured character Aaron Livesy being repeatedly raped by his evil father Gordon as a child.
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After watching the show, McNally's victim reported him to police and detectives launched an investigation into his historic crimes. During their investigations four other men, who had also been abused by McNally, came forward.
McNally was extradited from his home in Ireland to face trial at Nottingham Crown Court and he was found guilty of 24 of 29 sex abuse charges. The charges he was convicted of included 18 counts of indecent assault, five counts of indecency with a child and one of buggery.
On Friday (19/1) he was jailed for 26 years with an extra one-year extended licence period. He was told he will serve a minimum of 17 years before he can apply for parole, meaning he will be 84 years old when he is eligible for release.
The trial heard McNally preyed on the victims while working as a housemaster at Nazareth House, which was run by the Sisters of Nazareth Catholic order. Four of the victims were abused at the children’s home, while a fifth was sexually abused by McNally after joining the scout group.
Jurors heard the victim from the scout group was abused by McNally on camping trips from the age of 11, including in Crich and Tollerton. The court heard McNally was aged 18 at the time and carried out the abuse after entering the victim’s tent on repeated occasions.
The second victim, who was nine at the time, told officers he had been having a rough time in the care home and had been beaten by the nuns. He said McNally was aware of the beatings and told the child that he would look after him and visit him in the night to make sure he was OK.
The court heard McNally used his position to repeatedly sexually abuse the child in his room and his car. He ordered the terrified boy not to tell anyone about what happened because if he did, bad things would happen.
Two further victims told police they were sexually abused from the ages of around five or six. One of the victims told officers McNally saw the boys at the home as his “play things” and he would beat children as well as sexually abuse them. The fifth victim told police McNally “stole his childhood” and that he abused him at Nazareth House and the monster’s parents’ home.
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Helen Sanders, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “McNally was a manipulative sex offender who systematically targeted vulnerable boys over a period of six years. His victims were vulnerable children some of whom had difficult family backgrounds.
“As part of an institution tasked with helping to improve their lives, McNally was placed into a sacred position of trust that he then abused in the most appalling way imaginable. Until you have met and interviewed victims of childhood sexual abuse it is difficult to understand just how damaging these acts can be.
“These victims have all had to live with the burden of what happened to them as children and have in many cases experienced considerable challenges in their adult lives as a result. As they have struggled, McNally has enjoyed a full and productive life – hiding behind a shield of respectability as a former housemaster and scout leader.
“He refused to accept responsibility for his heinous crimes, forcing his victims to relive their ordeals at trial. Their resilience has been extraordinary.
“Each of them has acted with remarkable calm and dignity during this process and also displayed considerable courage in recounting their experiences to the court. Sadly, one of them is no longer with us to see justice served, but I would like to give thanks to his family for their continued support, and hope this conviction brings them some comfort in his absence.”
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