Children’s home helper guilty of rape and abuse

‘Ashamed and dirty’

A FORMER volunteer at a children’s home has been found guilty of grooming and sexually abusing children in care more than 30 years ago.

Joe Duffy, 60, a police civilian custody officer for 20 years, raped two sisters and sexually abused a boy at the home run by nuns during the 1980s.

One of the victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court he raped her when she was aged 12 years.

Duffy, who worked at Clydebank police office but was suspended when the allegations emerged, denied the ‘incredible’ claims and said his accusers went to police simply to seek compensation.

But a jury at the High Court in Glasgow took less than two hours to convict him.

The court heard Duffy, from Glasgow, would take the children on minibus trips to Loch Lomond and other places and would stay at the home on Friday nights. One victim said he raped her when she was 12 and he was 24 or 25, leaving her feeling ‘ashamed and dirty’.

Her sister told the court Duffy ‘began touching me when I was 13 or 14’ and that he raped her on the day she left the home.

Meanwhile, the male victim told the court Duffy took him from the home on a number of weekends. He said Duffy would strip naked, get into bed with him and sexually abuse him.

Prosecutor Steven Borthwick asked: ‘Did you want him to do that?’ ‘No,’ the witness replied. ‘I was only 11.’

Duffy was cleared of abusing two other boys.

He will be sentenced at the High Court in Aberdeen by Lord Kinclaven on March 16 and has been placed on the sex offenders register.