My brother was in the scouts in the 70s. His leader would come to our house on a Saturday and take my brother to his house to play with his trains or just to “help him” with things. My brother left the scouts without reason.

My mum kept his uniform and later in life she gave it back to him and he immediately burnt it. This was a trigger for my brother and he reported his abuse to the police. By this stage the perpetrator was old and infirm and soon passed away. The police told my brother that they knew about this man for years but never had enough evidence to charge him.

This led to a downward spiral for my brother, his marriage failed, he became an alcoholic and under psychiatric care. He was in half way houses and became a recluse. He died in 2021 of alcohol abuse and self neglect. He was 57.

My family and I strongly believe that this would not have happened if my brother felt he had got some justice when he reported his abuse to the police. It had taken him years to build up the courage and speak out only to be left with tortuous memories and no closure.