The Establishment paedophile: how a monster hid in high society

Water

That's awful; nothing infuriates me more then this, I’m not a man who uses obscenities often but stories of this nature, ugh. You're not wrong it aptly highlights how the "veneer of social respectability can protect even the worst offenders" but unfortunately it happens, everywhere and under most veneers, unfortunately, academic or otherwise, there lies a sickening underbelly. Anybody who has associates who are social workers will be more then aware of the stories, it makes me quite nauseous.

Alma

Astonishing how little discussion there has been on this case, given the severity of the abuse and the high profile of child abuse cases in the media. I find it shameful and it says more about the nature of our media than all the prattle about the invasion of privacy of self centred 'celebs' that this should be hidden away and effectively suppressed. I am ashamed of our media and our society.

zigzag

I have just googled Roger Took and there is no information about his terrible crimes anywhere, I would like to suggest to his wife and family that they post information about him on Wikipedia, for all to see.

Julia

To Pat,
The devastation you must have felt when you learned of the viciousness & depravity of the paedophile tendencies of you husband I cannot begin to imagine. Your outstanding courage in bringing into the public domain the appalling danger posed by a "well respected man of learning" is to be praised. I salute your outstanding selflessness and bravery when you must have been going through personal agonies. I hope that through your efforts something positive can be drawn out of a tragedy affecting so many people.

Bridget Thomas

What an excellent article by Charlotte Metcalf. Thank you for having the courage to publish more than a bland piece of margarine, such as one normally sees on this disgusting subject.

angelina Dolan

My best and sincereaccolades to Pat and her daughters and their family. A brave lady and a journalists who has written an article of true support. I heard pat on women's hour this morning -she is right priveledge should not protect you from media . I hope this article will create more,

David Aram

How courageous of the Spectator to step out of its normal politically focused strategy to headline this terrible reality in our midst. This is a valuable break from the norm and should be continued, as The Speccie's duty is not just to reflect the Establishment but occasionally to be its scourge.

marina

From a professional point of view I wish more women had the courage of Pat; to give their husband or partner in the same situation a clear sense of what they did was wrong and their family every confidence that that are not collusive and would never be party to their behaviour. I have found that sometimes it is those with most to lose financially and socially in the long term that accept men back into their lives, whilst blaming themselves for the men's behaviour. It takes courage to do what Pat did and I hope both women and men, if nothing else, at least think about what she said today during women's hour . Depending on who is prepared to give supporting statements post conviction, it can even make the difference between a community sentence versus a custodial one in certain circumstances.

Conan McKenzie

May I be the sole dissenting voice here, and say that I not only found the details of the case sickening and highly disturbing, but also Charlotte Metcalf's attitude to Took and the whole case rather depressing? She makes the valuable point that paedophiles can be found in all sections of society, low and high, which is undoubtedly an important message that needs to be more widely appreciated. But we must also remember that most men are not paedophiles, and it is this kind of tabloid-style article, which devotes perhaps excessive amounts of space to the sordid details in order to provoke shock and disgust, that leads to the default attitude of suspicion of all men that is increasingly prevalent in our society. Metcalfe could, and in my opinion should, have made this point in the interests of balance. Secondly, it does not help to simply characterise these men as 'monsters' in headlines and cartoons, nor to express outrage that their friends and colleagues might stick up for them and testify as to their othwerwise good character when their whole life is (justifiably) collapsing about them. Even worse is her apparent outrage that the man reads the Spectator, and her wish that his suscription be cancelled - I never thought I would see such base tabloid hysteria in this magazine. Though the man has undoubtedly committed a terrible crime, for which he must be punished, it is surely not right to attempt to deny his very humanity and paint him merely as some subhuman monster, nor to hysterically deny him any pleasues (reading this magazine, for example) that might be left to him in prison. It is for the courts to punish, not the general public, and certainly not the media. All we can do, if and when he is released, is attempt to help him rehabilitate himself into general society, as we would for any criminal who has served his time, and do our utmost to prevent him from ever coming into unsupervised contact with children. Cartoons of monsters in armchairs will not help.

D Short

This is an article that disparages ordinary folk.

David Glover

I trust that somehow, and in some way, that The Spectator, now aware of the true facts of this dreadful case, will make the general public (ie. non-Spectator readers) more fully aware of the case and its implications for our society.

Eila Bannister

Thank you Charlotte Metcalf for tackling such delicate subject with such accuracy and skill.

Eila Bannister

Thank you Charlotte Metcalf for tackling such delicate subject with such accuracy and skill.

Tim

We need to think very carefully about how best to protect children against this sort of crime.

As from next year, the Independent Safeguarding Agency will be "monitoring" some 11 million inviduals - about 1 in 4 of the adult population - because they have contact with children or vulneraable adults, either in their paid work or as volunteers.

None of this would have helped Took's victims: they came into contact with him as a family member.

Indeed, it may well be that in some cases the new regime will increase the risks to which children are exposed. It is difficult enough already to find volunteers to work with children - the new law will only make this worse. The fewer responsible unrelated adults playing a role in children's lives, the harder it will be for children who are victims of abuse within the family to find a source of external support.

In short, there is a danger that our concern about men like Took will lead us to support any measures that appear to offer better child protection, however intrusive or counterproductive. Raising children is the responsibility of the whole of society, not just parents. Yet contact between adults and children is increasingly seen as something exceptional, requiring the permission of the state, rather than as a normal part of civilised life.

D Davids

I feel physically sick by this depravity and also from the fact that it was not reported. To Conan McKenzie's post...protecting children is a must, excusing people who molest and abuse them is sick and indefensible. Shame on you.

Tim

I fear Mr Davids' post illustrates the difficulty in having a sane discussion about this subject. It is grossly unreasonable to read Conan McKenzie's post as excusing those who molest and abuse children.

Patricia.

I heard Pat speaking on Woman's Hour yesterday, and was in tears by the end. I have three daughters and six granddaughters and just cannot begin to imagine the torture and guilt that she has gone through. I admire her courage in bringing this to public attention and deplore wholeheartedly the way that is has, allegedly, been kept quiet. And as to how any sane person could even begin to make excuses for Took's behaviour, beggars belief.

Anne

Congratulations to Pat for having had the courage to talk to a journalist about this topic of paeophilia. I also heard her talk on Woman's Hour where she gave different kind of detail about her life with her husband. Paedophilia is abhorrent, and so are married people who go off and have affairs with others. It is not the way to behave. How would you feel if it was your daughter who was the Cambodian girl in the story? It could be me. Boris Johnson our mayor of London should do something about paedophilia in the capital. Human trafficking is wrong. Child abuse is wrong. We need to look after our children and offer them protection not abuse. We also need to protect vulnerable adults. Let us concentrate our efforts Boris, on POVA and CP.

Andrew

I cannot remember being so effected by an article before. The hideous detail made me feel sick and tearful that such evil can exist. I just pray for his victims, that they can somehow live with their terrible abuse and find happiness.

Kiran

Thank you for publishing this article and thanks to The Spectator for putting it on the cover. I hope it will encourage others to acknowledge evil and to expose it.

Anne

What a brave lady! What courage it must have taken make that step into the public arena. The public have to be aware that actual abusers and internet offenders can be the most charming and successful members of society. They come from all walks of life and cross all sections of ethnicity, religion and social background. Likewise the public should be made aware of the devestating effects of this sort of crime, not only on the victims and their familes but also on the offenders' families. The emotional trauma of coming to terms with a loved member of the family committing horrific crimes against children is almost impossible to deal with in itself, but this is also compacted by practical and financial implications, by the judgements of others and by a total lack of professional support in most areas. Without public awareness it becomes impossible to protect our children and more difficult to those who need support.

GK

Dr Jekyll, Mr Hyde full throttle.

David Short

Irresponsible to have these disgusting details retailed here. Very bad editorship, and I cannot understand why the owners would allow it.

seb

i trust mr took will be given a right of reply.

it'll be interesting to hear his version of what took place.

ms metcalf seems somewhat parti pris.

jo collis

To Pat
I have just heard your talk on weekend womans hour and very much want to say to you how much I respect and admire you for speaking out. I am sure that this has empowered other partners of abusers and relatives within families where children have been abused to also speak out. These discussions are really important and enable others to understand the restorative effects of believing children and also of supporting adults within the family to continue to draw on their emotional strengths and resources.

yiannis

it makes decent men feel ashamed to called men,as for people like seb he is sick if he cant see the evil in this man.

Nicholas Storey

And - Shiort and McKenzie - you are the type of cocooned well-meaning, fundamentally irresponsible modern Britons who have greatly contributed, with, McKenzie, your belief in the 'essential goodness' of men like Took and with, Short, your refusal to deal with unpleasant truths, to the wretched state of the nation.

john

I cannot believe that this story has received so little attention.

David Short

It's an early start for me today, much to do, and I note that 'Nicholas Storey' wrote his comment at a late hour!

About half an hour after what we used to call closing hour.

Nicholas Storey

Well, Short, as a matter of fact, unlike you (who probably lives in some south London suburb), I live on the other side of the world - because prigs like you have made the state of the country of my birth (England) unbearable to me. Accordingly, not only is your reply to me wildly out in terms of time but it shows that, on top of everything else (and without more), your best defence is vulgar abuse.

Harold J. Wilson

Charlotte, a sad revolting story but an old one. Good points made. And then there's Belgium. By the way, the past tense of 'wreak' is 'wrought.'

Conan McKenzie

Mr Storey,
Yes, I live in South London. I suppose that invalidates my views. I would note though, that although I never used the phrase 'essential goodness,' and I'm not sure it's entirely appropriate when dealing with paedophiles (it's certainly not very sensitive), that concept, and my views on the issue, are both born out of mainstream, non-liberal-left-wacky CofE Christianity, which is hardly mondern nonsence and unlikely to be responsible for the country's current problems - quite the opposite.

Mr Davids,
Yes, protecting children is a must. No, we should not try to excuse paedophiles their terrible crimes. I think everyone agrees with you on those things. But allowing them to read a political magazine in prison neither compromises children's safety nor excuses these men their crimes, but merely allows them to pursue an innocent interest and helps them to keep up with events in the outside world, which might assist with rehabilitation upon their eventual release.

Interestingly, many of the programmes most successful in rehabilitating convicted paedophiles, and if not 'curing' them then at least giving them tools to help them avoid temptation, have been religious in nature, and certainly not vindictive - witness for example the highly successful 'Circles of Support and Accountability' scheme run by the Quakers.

Brita

Why didn't you post my post?
I said that I consider the details in such a story to be gratuitous. Now I'll go further and suggest that the specifics of paedophile activity are pornographic and offer vicarious pleasure to people who are inclined to the crime. The publication of material like this, therefore, encourages paedophiles and gives them ideas.

I also suggested that people like me, who abhor this kind of writing, will: refuse to participate in societies that condone it; not read the rags that print it; not look at the books, films, and TV that propagate it; and not listen to noises that mask it. In short, we will not contribute to nightmares or to their realization.

If this means that I have to stop reading The Spectator, then so be it. So will like-minded people, their friends, and their children.

One last development of my suggestion -- I argue that decadence breeds decadence: filth, after all, is fertilizer as well poison; but I think, also, that evil breeds resistance. That's why London closed the theatres in the seventeenth century; and that's why a lot of people turned into active Puritans and/or left europe. dels like our forebears may offer our only hope of clearing the pollution and finding treatments for the infection-including its source.

Brita

Sorry, the computer did things...
My last sentence was: The miasma arising from our once beautiful island thickens.

Brita

Sorry again.
That was "Models like our forebears..."

All done.

Nicholas Storey

Yes, Brita, let's return to the oppression generated by puritanical oafs - No dancing on Sundays now!! No, George, don't do that! (about nose-picking in public). This is not about that! This is largely about the fact that prudes and prigs refuse to confront (or are not equipped to confront) the ugly reality of modern Britain. Instead, they over-regulate the law-abiding, in order to give a semblance of overall control: meanwhile the real melefactors: the vandals, the knifemen and the paedophiliacs go, often, unconstrained. Get real. Get a grip. Pull yourself together. Even just really look around yourself.
NJS

Don

This article is unworthy of The Spectator. What were Took's actual crimes? So far as we can tell, he had pornographic images of children on his computer. It is said he sexually molested Grace. But what does molest mean here? We are told Took got the nine year old to pose for photographs. We are not toild what kind of photographs. These actions are crimes and Took deserves his punishment but they do not make Took a monster. Mixing in the obvious fantasy of internet chat rooms to suggest he might have been guilty of rape and murder is just ludicrous. It seems the principal victim in this case is Took's wife who is offended that their friends felt more sympathy for Took than for her.

Brita

NJS - Guess what. Weak, defenceless, and old as I am, I'm bold enough to challenge your contemptuous cliches and ad feminam approach.

I deny that preferring pleasantness to nastiness is prudish, priggish, hysterical, or neurotic.

I insist on my right to refuse participation in nightmares and pornography; and I protest LOUDLY when others try - physically or metaphorically - to shove filth in my face, up my nose, in my ears, or down my throat. On the other hand, I'm not prepared to waste any pearls on any swine.

On Puritans: I referenced an earlier age of what you call 'reality' and I call excessive decadence - which has nothing to do with snotty noses or Sundays.

I agree, believe it or not, that some forms of Puritanism were also excessive. If I may try to be clearer: our forebears eventually found a middle way-- between James I/VI & Son and Oliver Cromwell. So why can't we work towards one?

Yes. Modern Britain is now as vile as everywhere else. I just wish we could clean it up before degeneracy wipes it out.

Anne B

Aren't we getting off the point here. Surely we should return to what I was writing about earlier, and that is Child Protection and Protection of Vulnerable Adults. I reiterate that the wife here was very clear in how she described the activities that her husband had got involved with without her knowledge. She took the matter to Woman's Hour and spoke out very courageously. Good on her. And to all women who do speak up about the abuse that is inflicted on them. Anne

Sara

May I repeat others' comments - Pat is very brave to try to get more publicity in spite of the pain to herself and I hope she is successful. Please - more journalists - make mention of this terrible story or else we can only believe that the destructive class culture still exists, shaming us as a culture.

A. Stewart

This is a terrible story but it has to be told however dreadful the facts are. If we do not know what is contained in these images we can have no idea of what is meant by the word "paedophilia"; if we don't know, then we cannot properly condemn this behaviour.
Some of the correspondents seem to be of the view that it is a "victimless" crime when consumed over the internet: just who do you think those children are figments of the imagination or what? whether children in Cambodia or Russia they are real human beings who are being savagely treated. For those who lack imagination just ask yourself this: How would I feel if it happened to me when I was only a small child? Need I say more?

I too was molested by a family connection when I was a child, believe me when I say that you are helpless because of the tangled web of relationships and the certainty that chaos will ensue. In addition, as a child of 6 or 8 it is impossible to relate precisely what has happened in that one lacks the vocabulary to describe it accurately, one can only say that it feels "awful" and "wrong" but one has no context in which to place the events in order to report in a meaningful way what harm has been done. In my own case it didn't become apparent to me quite how I had been abused until I was about 18 years old.

D Short

I'm beginning not to be surprised by the kind of people who read The Spectator on-line.

Bruno

A horrific story, but how dreadful of the Spectator to run it on its front page with such a lurid headline and image at this time? British society finally appears ready to have a discussion about the effects of our exploitative obsession with paedophillia on our nation and on our children and you have a headline 'the devil in our midst'. Surely the timing can't be a co-incidence as the man was sentenced months ago?
Did anyone still believe that people like Took only came from council housing estates? And Paedophiles in the art world? Never! Ahem..Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donotelli, Schiele, Picasso...though of course any distinction between these people and sadistic psychopaths like Took would of course spoil the fun.
Unfortunately, such men as Took will always be with us. An increasing number of us have concerns with the way that the appalling evil of such men is exploited by trashy tabloids to sell newspapers, or by feminists and child protection agencies to demonize all men and to stop 17 year old girls from stealing their men.
I for one, will be cancelling my subscription to the Spectator magazine today.

Ian

Sadly the UK is not a place that encourages care of children. A recent case involving the serial neglect of three young children which led ultimately to one of their number 'disappearing' has brought only huge media support for the negelcful parents - because, one assumes, of their professions.

amerikan

having just stumbled onto this article i am, yet again, amazed at the ire of so many re: reading such things...turn the page, change the channel, continue on in blissful ignorance

Marian

Thank you for your article hightlighting the activities of these sick people.

Yes they are sick. No there is no "summary justice" in prisons and forensic institutions. I work with them.

Rehabilitation is difficult because the paedophile individual cannot be treated chemically without his consent.

Court transcripts are passed around and shared. The internet is available as is reading matter which cannot be legally monitored due to Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Speech, information and the freedom of sexuality.

Unfortunately childhood sexual abuse is considered a "soft" crime hence the light sentences. i.e. no one is killed.

This has been happening for centuries except now it is more subtle.

Children and the vulnerable have always been fair game.

Rachel Huguenin

I admire Pat's bravery.

Don,I find your attitude shocking and disgraceful.When people download internet images of child pornography,they are condoning the torture of babies and children.Anyone who,like Took,gets pleasure in viewing such material is sick and the young and vulnerable need society's protection from such individuals.How you can claim that he has committed no crime is beyond me.He has cynically exploited the trust of a family and caused huge harm to three innocent children.Shame on you.