PIE – trying to persuade others that child abuse was acceptable
Flick quickly through a copy of Magpie, a magazine published in the early seventies, and it bears all the hallmarks of any rudimentary publication put together by enthusiastic amateurs. But the “special interest” shared by readers of Magpie was paedophilia.
One of the most extraordinary things about Magpie – and there are many shocking aspects to the basic little booklet – is that it was openly distributed by a proud group called the Paedophile Information Exchange. It included crosswords (most of the clues related to sex with children), pictures taken from Brownie annuals, line drawings of children looking longingly at adults. None of it explicit, but the messages quite clear.
PIE’s avowed aim, in their own words, was to “to alleviate the suffering of many adults and children” by campaiging to abolish the age of consent, thereby allowing adults to feely have sex with children.
The Paedophile Information Exchange didn’t operate furtively or underground in any way. In fact, they hoped for as much publicity as possible.
They were smart, too. Emerging in the mid-seventies at a time of radical social change, they attempted to ally themselves to the gay rights movement. And in a climate of what the MP Peter Hain calls “loose trendiness”, they managed to become affiliated to the National Council for Civil Liberties – now known as Liberty.
Although the organisation disappeared in the mid-eighties after several members of their leadership were convicted for paedophile offences, they are back in the spotlight again.
As the rumours of a paedophile network at the highest levels of the establishment finally face proper investigation, the role of PIE and its members will be under renewed scrutiny.
It’s emerged that among PIE’s subscribers were Sir Peter Hayman, a senior diplomat found with images of chid abuse in the eighties. He evaded prosecutions after the then attorney general, Lord Havers, refused to pursue it.
Peter Righton was one of the founding members of the organisation. He rose to become one of the country’s leading childcare experts and often boasted of his high-level contacts. He was convicted of child sex offences and died in 2007. .
The archive of PIE remains and tells part of the organisation’s extraordinary story: a group of paedophiles convinced they would be able to convince others that abusing children was acceptable.
A window on a world 40 years ago but which may hold vital clues to the investigations of today.
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