Victims sue paedophile who ran molesters’ helpline

A BRITISH paedophile who set up an advice helpline for other child molesters is being sued for damages by five Filipinos who claim they were sexually assaulted by him in their home country.

Douglas Slade (77) was jailed for 24 years in 2016 for his abuse of five boys while living in Britain. Now, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind, four men and one teenage boy are to give evidence from Manila about the “personal injuries arising out of sexual abuse” they say they suffered at the hands of Slade.

The original conviction related to offences between 1965 and 1980, during which time he campaigned for the age of consent to be abolished, allowing adults to have sex with children legally.

He was also actively involved in the pro-paedophile activist group Paedophile Information Exchange, and during his trial it was said he was running a helpline for child sex abusers from his parents’ Bristol home in the 1960s and 1970s.

The UK High Court will hear what is thought to be the first case involving foreign victims – who will appear via videolink from the Philippines – suing a British national for alleged sexual abuse abroad.

Slade moved to the Philippines in 1985. He is said to have bought a house in a poor neighbourhood and locals complained he was preying on children, luring them into his home to abuse them.

Despite a number of investigations, he was never prosecuted in the country, and it wasn’t until he was extradited to Britain that he faced justice.

The youngest of the five suing him through the High Court in London was 10 when he was allegedly abused and one told the BBC he was “repeatedly” attacked by the paedophile.

“Many people avoid me and think that I have a disease because of what I did. I’m teased. I am too embarrassed to go out of the house.”

It is hoped the case will serve as a warning to paedophiles travelling abroad to sexually abuse children in countries where the judicial system is lax or flawed. (©Daily Telegraph, London)