Great Ormond St porter’s 30 years of child sex abuse
Hospital worker attacked youngsters 500 times
GREAT Ormond Street Hospital last night faced calls to explain how a porter could sexually abuse children on its premises during a threedecade campaign of terror.
Paul Farrell, 55, is facing life in prison after he was unmasked yesterday as a prolific sex offender who abused boys as young as five on at least 500 occasions.
Police fear there is a ‘very real possibility’ that dozens of other children were targeted but are yet to come forward.
After reporting restrictions were lifted, it can be revealed Farrell lured at least two boys to the hospital on the pretence of ‘work experience’ before locking them in a linen room and molesting them.
Farrell, of Kentish Town, northeast London, held several positions at the hospital between 1994 and his arrest in January last year.
His main job as a porter gave him keys and access to locations at the London hospital. Wood Green Crown Court heard Farrell did not target patients in the hospital, but abuse experts and staff members have raised concerns as to how he was able to abuse young boys there. A
Great Ormond Street spokesman said it was ‘deeply sorry’ Farrell was able to ‘abuse his position’.
Former child protection officer Jim Gamble called for an independent inquiry. He said: ‘Saying there is no evidence patients were abused doesn’t mean there is no evidence to be found.
‘You have to work on the principle a serial sexual abuser doesn’t switch off while they are working. The only question for devious paedophiles like this is one of opportunity.
‘The hospital should carry out a fundamentally independent review to investigate whether there is evidence he committed any other offences while in the hospital.’
Farrell’s offending first came to light in November 2019 when two men said they had been abused as children in the mid-1980s.
An investigation was launched and he was arrested while working at the hospital, later being suspended and placed on police bail.
Undeterred, he continued to abuse children as young as seven until last summer while under criminal investigation. Indecent DVDs and photos of children were found in a safe in his bedroom, while searches of his phone led police to further victims.
After pleading guilty to 69 offences against eight children, including attempted rape, indecency with a child, sexual assault of a child, causing a child to engage in sexual activity and possessing indecent images of children, Farrell was yesterday warned he faced a life sentence.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to eight further offences. A further 25 counts will ‘lie on file’, sparing victims the ordeal of a trial.
Farrell was said to have befriended the parents of victims when lodging at their homes or offering to babysit their children, posing as a ‘loving family man’. In reality, he was a recluse who had lived with his mother and stepfather in a council flat and harboured an interest in violent pornography.
His offending against young boys began in 1985 and continued until June last year. His victims are now aged between eight and 43.
Paul Douglass, prosecuting, said that as well as abuse occurring in the hospital, children were attacked in their homes, at Farrell’s mother’s house, in a community centre and in a caravan on the Isle of Sheppey. Farrell will be sentenced in May. Detective Superintendent Dave Courcha, of the Metropolitan Police, said: ‘There is a very real possibility that Farrell has abused other children. We urge any further victims to contact police right away.’
The NSPCC said: ‘If as a result of this case anyone needs advice or support, we have set up a dedicated helpline on 0800 101 996.’
‘Real possiblity he targeted others’