THAT career paedophile John Kyle was able to prey on teenage boys in East Lancashire for 30 years is appalling enough.

And just as sickening and hideous is the fact that most of his victims were vulnerable youngsters with mental health problems sent to him for help in his job as a psychiatric nurse.

But even worse is the disclosure that, as today he begins a long and deserved prison sentence, he could have been brought to justice a whole ten years earlier.

One of his victims reported his ordeal to his profession's governing body in 1987.

They did nothing until 1997, when another of his victims was listened to - this time, by the police - and then, at last, they too acted.

But what is shocking is the different degrees of belief that the nursing authorities apparently had - and, frighteningly, may still have - for allegations of sexual abuse.

It would seem that complaints from the victims themselves were likely to be dismissed because, we are told, it is "often very difficult to prove them."

No doubt it is. But is this not a dangerously dismissive attitude to have in advance - in response to serious and dreadful allegations?

Certainly, it provided a great hole in the safety net through which the vile Kyle could slip and carry on his disgusting predation on youngsters for another decade.

Thankfully, the police were not so complacent or daunted by the difficulties.

But what is really chilling is that there is little in the official response to this scandal to put anyone's mind at rest that another victim of someone like Kyle could similarly go unheeded.

If those who suffered at the hands of this monster are to have complete justice, the health authorities and the professional bodies should be urgently tightening up their controls and investigation procedures and letting the public know it.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.