‘Paedophile’ cadets chief would have lost his MBE
ATWISTED Birmingham Sea Cadet chief who abused, tortured and, in one case, branded the boys in his care, would have been stripped of his MBE if convicted of the crimes, a government body has confirmed.
Following a campaign by lawyers acting for victims of Peter Sherwin, the Forfeiture Committee – a government body with the power to remove awards – confirmed he would have lost the honour, if he were alive.
The cadet boss from Hall Green died of lung cancer in 2014 aged 67. His abuse was first revealed in the Sunday Mercury, the Birmingham Post’s sister paper.
To date, law firm Bolt Burdon Kemp has been instructed by 37 individuals who say they suffered at the hands of Sherwin. They have told of being sexually abused, humiliated and whipped.
West Midlands Police have since confirmed that witness statements have been taken in relation to allegations made against him since his death, and a crime of rape of a child under the age of 13 has been recorded as being suspected to have occurred.
The Sea Cadet organisation has shelled out more than £1.5 million in out-of-court settlements and issued an apology.
In its statement, the Forfeiture Committee said: “Peter Wallace Sherwin was awarded an MBE in 1987. He died on 15 June, 2014.
“The Forfeiture Committee can confirm that had Peter Wallace Sherwin been convicted of the crimes of which he is accused, forfeiture proceedings would have commenced.”
Cadet commanding officer Sherwin, considered a pillar of the community, rubbed shoulders with civic heads and was introduced to Prince Andrew when the royal visited TS Sterling, in Shard End, Birmingham, in 2001.
Sherwin has since been exposed as a sadistic predator, a pervert who enjoyed inflicting pain. One accuser, who has received a payout from the cadets, said: “He was this icon in the
community. In reality, he was the classic calculating, predatory paedophile.”
He added: “He had what was called a ‘blues routine’ when he made you dress up in different costumes. He made me get into sports gear, white shorts. They were stained and white and dirty. You had to strip and put the shorts on.
“He’d handcuff you to a radiator pipe, it seemed like hours, and he’d whip you with a CB aerial. I used to beg him to stop hitting me.” He added: “I felt no one was going to believe a 13-year-old.”
Another victim said: “I can’t take the accolades he received away from him, but when I think of people worshipping the ground he walked on, when I think he was such a monarch in the community, it sickens me.”
Sherwin was arrested in October, 2013, but the case later dropped. He was suspended by the cadets when the police investigation began, but later reinstated.
Rebecca Sheriff, partner in the Abuse department at Bolt Burdon Kemp, said: “Sherwin was a predatory paedophile who went undetected for many decades. Over this period he physically, sexually and emotionally abused many dozens of cadets in the most sickening of ways.
“Whilst he went unpunished for his crimes during his life, in his death I am pleased not only that his horrific crimes have come to light but that the announcement from the Forfeiture Committee goes some way to providing our clients with some form of justice and peace as they move forward with their futures.”