How Could You? Hall of Shame-Scotland-Vincent Hill and Lawsuit

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Bathgate, Scotland, “A schoolboy raped by his foster dad is to sue council bosses over his ordeal.

Kirk Sharpe, now 27, endured years of abuse after he was put in the care of paedophile Vincent Hill.

He was targeted by the market trader from the age of 10. Hill took Kirk to Rangers games and gave him freebies from his stall to buy his silence.

He also plied the boy with cash, drink and drugs, threatened him, and told Kirk he would circulate indecent photos he had taken of him if he told anyone.

Kirk’s ordeal left him so traumatised he tried to commit suicide.

Now married, he claims social work bosses failed to protect him when the pervert applied to be his full-time carer. It’s alleged officials ignored warnings about Hill’s behaviour.

Kirk, of Bathgate, West Lothian, says Hill groomed him for two years.

He recalled: “I had a chaotic childhood and was desperately unhappy when he befriended me. I realise now he’d been looking for a victim and I was a wee boy from a fractured background.

“Hill had a market stall at Bathgate on Wednesdays and weekends. He’d get me to help him and gave me £10 a time, which was a huge amount to a child.

“Eventually, he persuaded me I’d have a better life if he was my full-time carer.

“I was the one who told social workers I wanted to stay with him. That’s how naive I was and how clever Hill was.

“I remember my mum repeatedly telling the local authority there were suspicions about Hill. But he became my foster parent and social workers never spoke to me on my own.

“If West Lothian Council had taken these concerns seriously, I could have been saved. I want to know why it was so easy for Hill to become my carer.”

Kirk moved in with Hill when he was 12 and says the abuse started immediately. He added: “He’d abuse me and threaten me. I was terrified.

“Then he would take me to football or give me gear from his stall. He gave me booze and cannabis and took photos.

“He used those images to control me.I was terrified anyone would see them.”

At the High Court in Glasgow in March, Hill was jailed for seven years for abusing Kirk over a five-year period.

The former bingo caller, who also ran an auction house in Dalgety Bay, Fife, pled guilty to abuse charges between 1998 and 2002 at properties in Paisley, Inchinnan and Erskine, Renfrewshire.

Kirk said: “Hill was cunning and clever but when you’re a child, you don’t understand.

“As you get older, the shame element creeps in and it gets harder and harder to tell. Abusers know how to make victims feel guilty and responsible.”

Kirk broke away from Hill when he was 17 but his life spiralled out of control and he ended up homeless.

He made a police complaint about Hill, then immediately withdrew it.

It was only when his wife found images of him that he plucked up the courage to contact police again.

Kirk said: “Two years ago, she found pictures Hill had taken.

“I broke down and told her what he’d done. Then I confronted Hill at one of his auctions. There was no going back.

“He destroyed my life and I constantly wonder if I was his only victim.

“I feel so let down. I’ve tried to take my life four times to escape the pain and trauma. I’m going to need a lot of help to rebuild my life.”

Kirk’s lawyer Cameron Fyfe, of Drummond Miller, said: “This is one of the most
distressing cases I’ve ever dealt with. Kirk went from the frying pan into the fire and was repeatedly failed. One area I’ll be investigating rigorously is how this could have happened to a child in foster care when so many checks are supposed to be in place.

“If there is evidence the council have been negligent, I’ll be making a claim on Kirk’s behalf. I also expect a substantial criminal injuries award.”

Two years ago, the Sunday Mail exposed Hill after he did a runner from his auction house while owing customers thousands of pounds.

West Lothian Council said: “We take the safety of children in our care very seriously.

“All kinship carers are fully assessed which always includes police checks.

“Children who are looked after are routinely seen on their own.

“Where specific allegations of harm are made, prompt action is taken to investigate and protect the child.””

They gave me to a rapist’: Schoolboy raped by foster dad set to sue council bosses over his horrific ordeal[The Daily Record 7/26/15 by Marion Scott]

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