What do you think of this? (ex tv weather presenter)

The adult mental health services are full of people who were sexually abused as children. As others have said, many people never get over it, and some can't live with it. There is evidence that boys and men find it even more difficult to tell anyone what has happened to them because of all the reasons given above. Shame is a big factor for men, who feel they should have been able to prevent it, and who feel ashamed and doubtful of their own sexuality. You can never blame anyone for keeping this to themselves, and you can never begin to imagine the pain they live with. I'm sure if they wanted a bandwagon to jump on they could find a much easier one.

I can't imagine that anyone ever 'gets over' sexual abuse. I can only imagine what they go through. Some go on to commit suicide. Sometimes we need to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. I believe something of this nature happened to my brother when he was in his teens which sent him off the rails. He later killed himself. Unless we have experienced it we can have no idea why they don't come forward or what it does to their lives.

Fear of not being believed, as loopylou says
Fear of appearing in court and being torn to shreds by a ruthless barrister and their whole life examined
Shame - thinking that somehow it was their own fault
Shame - perhaps some of them had not told their families and are having to find the courage to do so now.

Let's not blame the victims. There is only one person to blame here.

Fear of not being believed, just like so many others possibly.
Sadistic behaviour by teachers and others wasn't believed not so long ago, NHS whistleblowers aren't believed today........

Or thirty years. Can't do years over the millennium bit.

And don't tell me they were too scared. Or embarrassed. They've had forty years to get over that.

Why didn't they come forward at the time? Band-waggoning now?

Age is no excuse for evading punishment IMO, victims and their families suffer for life.

Oh God yes! I'm not advocating lynchings! Not at any stage of the ops.

I think we are always protective of our children jingl, however old they are. So even after so many years, I would still want to kill him. Which is why it's a good job there is a proper legal system.

It makes no difference when he committed the crimes. He should still be punished.
He wrecked lives and now has to face up to the consequences.

if it had happened to one of mine, God forbid, at the time I would have wanted to kill him. But after so many years?

I agree with you brendawymms.

"The quality of mercy is not strained...."

And if you were the parent of a child he had abused, I'm guessing that imprisonment would seem like nowhere near sufficient punishment. Revenge? Maybe, but as Jane10 says, it's also about sending out the right message to those abusing children now, which is that they can never rest, never think they have got away with it, because the truth could come out years later and they will be punished. Such individuals may have no choice about their sexual desires but they always have a choice about whether to act on them, just as everyone else does.

Our local newspaper is reporting that an ex-school teacher (aged 91) has today been sentenced to 9 years for sex assaults on boys dating back to 1957 and onwards. The judge said that, apart from the sex attacks, his corporal punishment on pupils was particularly sadistic. I would probably describe some of the teachers in my Catholic junior school in the 1950s as sadistic but there is no suggestion of any sexual assaults. It was the 'norm' in many schools to whack and slap children. It was horrible but some seem to have taken it a step further. I can only imagine what being sexually assaulted in this way does to people's lives. I can also understand why it takes so long to come forward. If we told our parents that the nuns had whacked us they would have told us we must have deserved it as the nuns were above reproach. Yes these people should be punished.

The sort of predatory behaviour that Fred Talbot has habitually abused boys with is not gentle and benign - he has ruined the lives of several children. He'll be included in a prison treatment programme but the prognosis for someone like him, who has continued to deny his actions and made the complainants come to court to relive their experiences, is that he'll need lengthy treatment and supervision to monitor him in future. Repeat sexual abuse on several children makes him very hard to treat. He hasn't taken responsibility yet - perhaps a month on remand whilst reports are prepared might make him think what he's put these young men through, but just saying what he thinks the judge might want to hear so he can get a lighter sentence won't work.

I feel compassion for any offender who has ended up facing prison because he has sexually abused children - he's learnt to behave like this somewhere himself and would have needed guidance and protection at a time when he could have been diverted from offending. But I don't think he should avoid being appropriately sentenced for what he did.

Brendawymms I am pleased you have been able to put the abuse behind you and get on with your life,(not an easy task I would think), unfortunately there are many who are unable to do so and seeing their abuser jailed (even if he is in his 80s) could bring them some comfort.

No abuse of one person against another is ever acceptable.
The incidents that have been in the press in the last months have all been historic and I am having difficulty in understanding who benefits from locking away a person in their late 70's or 80's.
Is it revenge or a thirst for justice. I don't know.
I was abused by a teacher when I was at school in the 1960's ( one of quite a few) but cannot see what benefit there is in bringing it to law now against a man in his late 80's. Do I forgive him. NO do I see the need for revenge. NO. Do I need justice. It's too late.

Apparently he kept explicit diaries recording his actions over years, sick perverted individual.

He chose to go into a profession (teaching) where he could be close to children, he was in a position of trust when he abused them. He has to serve a long sentence in order to try to give those children some kind of closure (although how you get over that sort of abuse I don't know).

If there was an effective treatment I would be in favour of him being offered it but would think that anything less than chemical castration would be ineffective.

Aren't sex offenders near impossible to treat with any kind of success?

I nursed a small child who had been passed around family members as a sex object. The injuries were appalling, the psychological damage irreparable.
It was nearly 40 years ago and the images are still there.
Treatment? Castration for one although I'm sure many will disagree.

I do know about "treatments" having been involved in a professional capacity however, deciding to abuse children is not outwith personal control. He is a cognitively able person who was able to choose to, decide to and perpetrate these acts. Results from attempts to "treat" people like these are not impressive.

I think there are members of this forum who have professional knowledge of this whole issue and may have helpful comments to add.

I think that there are attempts to try and treat paedophiles - it is after all not just in their interests, but everyone's. I am not sure what that treatment consists of, but I applaud the attempt.

What "treatment" do you have in mind jings? He took advantage of young boys. That wasn't some sort of unconscious or even one off event. He knew exactly what he was doing when he was doing it. There was never a time when that was somehow alright. Its time the law caught up with these unscrupulous ****s. Will also give out the right message to those currently involved in this vile abuse.