A former Broadmoor Hospital patient makes abuse claims against Jimmy Savile, and says that staff who knew about it should be held to account.
The former patient, who after a sex change operation is now a man, says that Savile was a regular visitor on the ward and that he was groped by him while watching television.
The accusation is the latest in a string of allegations against the Top of the Pops DJ from children and young women, and abuse is alleged to have happened at two other hospitals. Twelve separate police forces have now passed allegations to the Metropolitan Police for investigation.
Steven George, who was known as Alison Pink while at Broadmoor, said that Savile was given keys to the hospital and was treated like a member of staff, able to go wherever he wanted.
Savile was sitting on the floor in front of the sofa while patients were watching television, when he put his hands up the 17-year-old’s nightdress, said Mr George. Savile’s “wandering hands” were discussed openly among the patients, but most did not tell staff for fear of retribution, Mr George added.
“We were perfect victims, because in a place like Broadmoor, immediately people say; ‘You’re mad, you’re bad, you’re a nutter. Therefore we don’t believe anything you say’,” he said.
While Savile, who died earlier this year, can no longer be held to account, Mr George said that those who “enabled” his abuse should be brought to court. “All the enablers that are living should be caught, because those that actually knew – and there were people who knew exactly what he was doing – they’re the ones, they should be in court,” he said.
When it was coming out, I was thinking – well, why the hell did you think he was there? Not just at our place, but any of the other hospitals. He was there for one reason – access. Steven George
Claims have also emerged that Savile groped young patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire, where he worked as a volunteer fundraiser, while one woman alleged that she saw him molest a brain-damaged hospital patient at Leeds General Hospital.
Mr George, who suffered abused since the age of 3 at the hands of adults, including his father, says he was sent to Broadmoor in April 1968 after committing an offence. He had a sex change operation after leaving Broadsmoor Hospital in 1984.
Mr George, now 60, says he is “furious” that it took so long for the allegations to emerge.
“When it was coming out, I was thinking – well, why the hell did you think he was there? Not just at our place, but any of the other hospitals?” he said. “He was there for one reason – access. To put himself in a position to do what he wanted.”
West London Mental Health NHS Trust, which now manages Broadmoor Hospital, said that the allegations relate to a time when the hospital was isolated from the wider trust. “Procedures and protocols, notably security arrangements, have changed significantly in the past decade to reflect that different culture,” the trust said in a statement.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he thought the Savile case was “the dark side” of Britain’s celebrity culture.
“There must have been just so many people who knew what was going on in hospitals, the BBC, maybe in the police,” he told BBC Radio Five Live. “I just keep asking myself why did this remain buried for so long.