My account

Section 01

Mission Statement

The aim of this story is to bring to light some historical sex crimes that were committed against a minor in Gibraltar during 1995–1996. This is a story about a 10-year-old boy who was subjected to repeated abuse by a sexual predator still free within the community of Gibraltar.

For legal reasons, the alleged perpetrator cannot be named, so he will be referred to as Mr Monster. The victim will be referred to as ‘The Boy’, ‘The Teen’ or ‘The Man’, depending on which part of his life is being described.

The victim wholeheartedly encourages anyone who has been on the receiving end of Mr Monster’s crimes to come forward. The Man will always support any victims and back them up in any legal case against Mr Monster. The aim is to finally put him in prison.

Section 02

Introduction

Mr Monster is a so-called pillar of the community. The Man believes that his access to children allowed him to indulge in what he regards as a sick perversion of paedophilia. Pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder characterized by an adult's persistent sexual attraction to prepubescent children. The use of the word persistent is key as this type of person does not stop.

Mr Monster was tried before the Gibraltar Magistrates Court on six charges relating to the abuse described in this account and subsequently was found not guilty. The Man stands by his account of what happened, but wants that outcome stated clearly for anyone reading further.

The Man believes that this is not a one-off, and that Mr Monster’s attraction to The Boy was not a unique case. He asks readers to consider why Mr Monster positions himself in so many ways around children and why he is still allowed so much access. The Man believes Mr Monster has hidden in plain sight for years, and that no one apart from The Man has come forward and reported his alleged crimes. The Man is the only person who has officially spoken out against Mr Monster in public.

Sexual abuse of children is a serious crime and has a profound effect on a child’s development. This story will also try to describe some developmental issues that The Boy, The Teen and The Man have faced throughout their life because of the abuse. This is supported in the evidence section by medical records and direct quotes from police statements.

Section 03

The Boy

The following is The Boy's own account of what happened to him, consistent with the statement he later gave to the RGP. Mr Monster was tried on charges arising from these events and found not guilty; that outcome is set out in full in the evidence and timeline pages. The Man only told his family and friends 31 years after it had happened, as he had still not come to terms with the extent of the abuse.

The Boy had dyslexia, and his parents sent him to Mr Monster’s house after school on Tuesday and Thursday for roughly 1 year to improve his writing and reading. There were up to six children at Mr Monster’s house at any one time who had also been sent to improve their English. The Boy came from a broken home, and his parents were going through a messy divorce, which made him a vulnerable target for Mr Monster.

From the start The Boy always received more attention from Mr Monster than the other children. Mr Monster would welcome him into his house by pinching his bottom and groin and putting his hands on him inappropriately. The Boy understood this as playing and did not know at the time that Mr Monster’s behaviour was already unacceptable. This was the start of Mr Monster slowly grooming The Boy as he slowly normalised touching him in ways he should not have. There was a room with a table where all the boys sat to do their work. Mr Monster would sit next to The Boy and slide his hands under the table rubbing his penis through his trousers. Mr Monster decided to take it further and escalated his abuse. As The Boy struggled to read Mr Monster unzipped his trousers and started to masturbate The Boy in front of the other children. Bear in mind The Boy could not read properly and found this very stressful and embarrassing to deal with. Mr Monster frequently masturbated The Boy under the table in front of the other children, subjecting him to sustained abuse over roughly 10 months.

Under the pretence of misbehaving, The Boy was separated from the other children and placed in the living room. Mr Monster continued to groom The Boy and normalise his behaviour in front of the other children. The Boy was slowly isolated from the other children as Mr Monster continued abusing him as he fulfilled his sick perversions towards a child. Mr Monster told The Boy to sit on the living-room sofa and he sat next to him. Mr Monster instructed The Boy to read as he stroked his penis through his trousers before unzipping them so he could masturbate The Boy as he struggled to read. The Boy was shocked and scared and did not know how to react. The isolation of The Boy from the other children continued to the point that The Boy never sat with the other children. Mr Monster then told The Boy to go straight to the kitchen for each lesson and continued his sick behaviour of masturbating The Boy for months on end.

Section 04

The Teen

Mr Monster agreed that The Boy should be sent to boarding school. The Man now understands this was a way to get The Boy out of the way.

The Teen developed insomnia, anxiety and depression. He did not like growing up because he missed his family, his friends and his home in Gibraltar. The Teen never liked his own body and felt physically dirty because of what had happened. His friends and family knew there was something wrong, as he started drinking and using drugs heavily from an early age and he became withdrawn and disconnected. Together with being depressed he had trouble forming relationships as the abuse had made him untrusting of new people and uncomfortable being touched.

When The Teen was 17, he moved back to Gibraltar and developed a hatred of himself for not saying anything, as he knew that Mr Monster still had so much access to children. He also knew that he could not be the only one subjected to Mr Monster’s sexual perversions.

By then, The Teen was old enough to understand that Mr Monster had deeply affected his self-image, and he developed a desire to harm himself with more drugs and alcohol. This pattern of behaviour continued as The Teen became The Man.

Section 05

The Man

The Man always struggled to come to terms with what had happened. His depression worsened, as did his drug and alcohol addictions, which resulted in him being admitted into multiple rehabilitation centres. He used drugs and alcohol to block out negative feelings, and they became a method of self-harm as his mental health worsened. This increased his desire to harm himself with more drugs and alcohol, and The Man attempted suicide several times because of his depression and addiction problems. He eventually opened up to his loving partner about some of the abuse, and she convinced him to go to the police.

The Man went to the RGP to make an official statement against Mr Monster on 27 January 2012, and Mr Monster was subsequently arrested and charged with six offences — two counts of indecent assault and four counts of indecent conduct towards a young child. In 2014, he appeared before the Gibraltar Magistrates Court to answer those charges. The court case took two years to prepare for, and The Man tried his best to put Mr Monster in prison, but Mr Monster was ultimately found not guilty.

The Man knew this was an injustice but accepted that you cannot convict someone without evidence unless multiple victims come forward. The Man wants to reiterate that he will always back anyone who comes forward, though he knows this is a difficult thing to do in a small community like Gibraltar, where everyone knows you.

You need to understand that the community needs your courage in order to stop the systemic abuse of its children. Please go to the RGP and report the crime or crimes that have been committed against you. The Man will be notified by the police, and he will back you up in court after Mr Monster is arrested for his crimes against you.

Yours sincerely,

The Man