Nurse sexually abused patients

John Kyle, 60, of Coach Road, Waterfoot, originally denied the ten charges of indecent assault and one other serious sex offence, but changed his plea to guilty on the eve of a trial.

His barrister said he had acted to spare his victims the pain of having to relive their ordeals in court.

Judge Brian Duckworth said: "The sentence must punish and deter and recognise the horror of this case and the disgusting, filthy, debilitating behaviour. The message must go out that anybody who behaves like this will be punished."

The court heard that five of Kyle's eight victims were his patients when he worked as a psychiatric nurse at Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn, in the 1960s and 1970s.

He retired from nursing in 1993, but his crimes did not come to light until one of his victims made a statement to police in 1997.

The officers in charge of the inquiry approached other patients and associates of Kyle, and more victims were uncovered. Three other boys were abused during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s at either his former address at Hawkshaw Avenue, Darwen, or his former home at Sparth Road, Waterfoot.

The court heard how the five patients had all been referred to Kyle at Queen's Park Hospital, for a variety of mental problems.

Often Kyle met the boys alone, talked about sex, and it was when he tried to teach them either relaxation techniques or self-defence that the indecent assaults took place.

One victim, who only came forward last month, told police Kyle gave him a pornographic book to read and asked him if he had any sexual problems.

He believed that Kyle would be instrumental in making the decision about whether or not he should go into care.

Kyle indecently assaulted the boy on his second to last visit, and committed a serious sexual assault against him on his last visit.

Heather Lloyd QC, prosecuting, said: "This man was trusted with the care of teenagers who needed help and support and he abused the position of trust that was put in him. The indecent assaults performed on these men masqueraded as part of the treatment."

Franz Muller QC, defending, said Kyle had no previous convictions and had had a long, responsible and devoted career in nursing.

Kyle was in poor health and had already faced up to life without his wife, consultant psychiatrist Marjory Fisher, who died of breast cancer in 1994.

The court heard that Kyle's wife worked at Queen's Park Hospital. Kyle received patients referred to him by consultants.

Kyle had also resigned himself to the fact that, because of his limited life expectancy, he may spend the rest of his life in prison.

Judge Duckworth, sentencing Kyle, said he had obviously groomed each of his victims in the run-up to abusing them.

He said: "In each of these cases the common denominator has been that you abused your status and position.

"You abused five young men who came to you as patients and they were vulnerable as they had been referred to you for psychiatric reasons."

Victim says bosses failed to act

PAEDOPHILE John Kyle, who preyed on teenage boys over a 30-year period, could have been brought to justice ten years earlier - but nursing bosses failed to act, it was revealed today.

And officials of the profession's governing body defended their decision not to take action because of the difficulty of proving allegations in such cases.

One of Kyle's victims reported his ordeal to health bosses more than 10 years ago but nothing was done, Preston Crown Court was told.

The man, a solicitor who does not want to be named, made a complaint to the English National Board of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting in 1987.

He had asked for his treatment under Kyle, who retired as a nurse in 1993, to be investigated, but the board decided not to take any action.

He told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph: "I feel very aggrieved that no action was taken against this man and he remained free to abuse others."

In 1993 the English National Board handed over all their investigations to the United Kingdom Central Council.

Tony Gales, case officer for the UKCC, said: "In 1987 the English National Board would have been dealing with this case. "It is possible that no action was taken because John Kyle had not been convicted of a criminal offence and it is often very difficult to prove these allegations on the evidence available.

"However as soon as we received a letter about Mr Kyle from the police in October 1997 he was immediately suspended as a nurse, and now it is quite probable that he will be removed from the nursing register altogether."

Detective Sergeant Brian Davies, who led the investigation, said: "This case could have been brought to a conclusion a long time ago if Kyle had pleaded guilty earlier, but he waited until the last moment to do so.

"During the course of this investigation he showed no remorse whatsoever. The sentence handed down reflects horror of the public at the depravity of his actions."

Sex monster's place in army and sea cadets

CAREER paedophile John Kyle was a trusted member of both Blackburn Sea Cadets and Burnley Army Cadets.

Kyle achieved a high ranking position at Burnley and was in constant contact with young people who were unaware of the dangers he posed.

He was also part of the Blackburn group's management team.

After working as a psychiatric nurse at Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn, during the 1960s and 70s, Kyle then worked for social services before moving to work for the former Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Health Authority in the 1980s.

During that time, Kyle worked under the disgraced Dr James Gordon Maden, who was jailed for three years in 1993 for ten sex crimes against male patients in his care, although detectives found no link between the two investigations.

Kyle retired in1993 but the police and health authorities were unaware of the catalogue of crimes he had committed against vulnerable teenagers in his care and other boys he had come into contact with. It was not until October 1997, when one of his victims came forward to tell police of his nightmare at the hands of Kyle, that the floodgates opened.

During the police investigation officers traced more of Kyle's victims and others came forward as a result of publicity about the case.

Some of his victims had kept their suffering to themselves for 30 years.

Detective Sergeant Brian Davies, who led the investigation, said: "Kyle is what we call a career paedophile. He has been quite prolific and has been doing this for most of his adult life.

"During the eight or nine months of our investigation we uncovered a long line of victims.

"This investigation has been very long and drawn-out for some of the witnesses, some of whom are now professional people including a policeman and a solicitor.

"He sexually abused teenage boys in his care and betrayed the position of trust and power he had over these vulnerable young people."

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