Commenting ahead of the publication today (Friday 4 Oct 2019) of the full sections Henriques report which relate to Carl Beech’s claims, NAPAC’s CEO, Gabrielle Shaw said this:
“It was clear from Carl Beech’s conviction in July 2019 for fraud and 12 counts of perverting the course of justice that he was a highly manipulative individual who went to elaborate lengths to make his allegations appear more credible. He was also a paedophile who’d tried to frame his own son for sexual offences.
“If an allegation of non-recent child abuse is made the police should listen with empathy, treat it seriously and follow the evidence. We can’t move back to a time where allegations of child abuse were dismissed out of hand.
“People who abuse children come from all walks of life. Most are family members or in a position of trust. We know from Operation Hydrant’s data that around 60% of the referrals of non-recent child sexual abuse made to them pose a potential safeguarding risk today.”
The number of adult survivors in the UK is much higher than many people realise. The ONS National Crime Survey in 2016 found that more than one in ten women and 3% of men in England & Wales were sexually assaulted during childhood See ONS data and other sources on the prevalence of childhood abuse