Beating the Odds: From Shocking Childhood Abuse to the Embrace of a Loving Family, One Man's True Story of Courage and Redemption

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Towards the end of the book, Paul says that he has learned his lesson after ending up in court charged with GBH, and will never use violence again. And yet just two weeks later, the police turn up on his doorstep due to an incident of road rage whereby Paul assaulted an off-duty police officer. The home's superintendent, a former Labour councillor, Alan Prescott, 79, had indecently assaulted four teenage boys at various points during the 1970s.

I have quite the interest in tragic life stories, I’m not sure if it’s reading how people can triumph over the awful obstacles that have been put in their path, or because my previous work experience has involved me in similar cases, but I will often seek these books out. Paul Connolly’s looked like another such tale, of a young boy succeeding despite the odds. Jan 9 Daily Mail Against All Odds : The debut author who didn't learn to read until he was 25 tops e-book charts http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2080829/Against-All-Odds-Paul-Connolly-didnt-learn-read-25-tops-e-book-charts.html St Leonard's Cottage Homes was built around 1890, and began with trying to house 'pauper' children away from the workhouses. Most cottages were looked after by a house-mother and a house-father. He works with various charities and is a core participant in the IICSA historical child abuse enquiry providing a voice for many no longer able to speak up. Above all else, Paul is most proud of being a loving father to his two sons. This inspirational story has now been adapted and made into an independent British movie - Big Boys Don't CryDuring the course of the hearings, a representative of Tower Hamlets gave an apology on behalf of the Council to all victims and survivors, and thanked them for their courage in coming forward to seek justice. [9] Police investigations The series, that was filmed in 2020, is based on the true story of child abuse that happened at St Leonard’s children’s home in Essex. A third social worker, Haydn Davies – who already had a 1981 conviction for buggering a teenage boy and who originally faced 37 charges of indecent assault, rape and buggery – had proceedings against him dropped after the judge ruled the loss of video [from police custody] and other evidence from an aborted investigation meant a fair trial was not possible. He was acquitted of 12 charges. In and out of trouble with the law since he was very young, Paul Connolly was not well pleased when, in his twenties, two policewomen came to his door. The news they told him stunned him. Of all the children in his dormitory at the abusive orphanage where he’d grown up, only he and one other were still alive. Most likely as a result of the horrendous sexual abuse they had suffered, nearly all his friends had committed suicide. The news made Paul reconsider the direction of his whole life and start to make something positive from it. The Best You discovers how despite the worst of beginnings, Paul Connolly became a famous celebrity fitness trainer and a bestselling author – even though he only learned to read when he was 25 years old.

Paul Connolly’s actions brought shame to the Catholic Church in Tasmania, but more importantly his abuse of this girl brought with it ongoing pain and devastation to the rest of this lady’s life. Fascinating ! i was thinking at the beginning of this book what shall i do with it when ive finished ? do i give it to a friend? a charity or do i Burn it so nobody ever see's the information again !? But people need to know whats gone on in the world dont they to make sure it never happens again ! keep your eye's closed and nothing changes ... and the beginning part of this book is HORRIFIC ! however it then becomes such an eye opener i feel like ive had an education on wallks of life that i didnt know about ..... i dont normally write this much on a review.It emerged that one house-father, Bill Starling, 94, had indecently assaulted, raped or buggered 11 victims, aged between five to 14 years old over twenty years, The Guardian reports. He was charged by the police, convicted and spent time in jail for this abuse. Following his release he lived privately until his death in 2014. Great friends and a loving heart transformed Paul’s world and he has gone on to help thousands of people as a specialist conditioning coach, sports injury expert, celebrity personal trainer, presenter and best selling author. Daniel O'Malley, a detective inspector who heads the continuing investigation, suggested that there could have been as many as 70 victims during those years. The purpose of this article is two fold. The first is to shine a bit of a spotlight on the abuse at St Leonards Childrens Home. The second is to publish some more police corruption relevant to child abuse and this will come in the second half of the article.

In the end, that is the choice Paul made. He went on to train a-list celebrities like Elle Macpherson in Hollywood and has now written a chart-topping book telling his remarkable story which has been optioned for a movie – all the way from being thrown out with the rubbish to his rise to success. After being abandoned as a baby, Paul Connolly grew up in a very poor and abusive children's home. Throughout his childhood, he was told he would amount to nothing, and probably end up in prison, or dead. For most of the kids he grew up with, this proved to be true.This book was a real eye opener for me and has made me grateful for my own childhood. Paul Connolly was abandoned as a baby and wound up in an awful children's home, where all the children suffered some level of abuse. This book was not easy reading at times as Paul explains how there was a lot of emotional, psychological, physical and also sexual abuse in the home. I felt my eyes fill up with tears many times. It is a true testament to just what a character Paul has managed to become though, as through all the horrors in his story he also managed to make me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. Operation Mapperton commenced in 1998. The Metropolitan Police and Tower Hamlets first sought to identify former residents and find out whether any wished to disclose allegations of abuse. A police inquiry team then set about gathering witness evidence and progressing criminal investigations into the men identified as abusers. [12] The police investigations resulted in two successful convictions: Then, at the age of eight he was moved to St leonard’s children’s home in Tower Hamlets. It was to be a life-changing move, for all the wrong reasons. From the Principal, down, the home was run by a paedophile ring. From then on, Paul’s childhood and schooling was fi lled with violence and mental torture. Literally abandoned with the rubbish at 2 weeks old and taken into the care system of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Paul Connolly was sent to the notorious St Leonard’s home in Essex, where he regularly heard that he was 'not normal' during years of mental, physical and sexual abuse. Childhood friendships made and lost. Total Neglect. Starvation. Sending an illiterate, very angry young man out into the world. Paul was transferred to St Leonard's Children's Home in Hornchurch, which use to be situated between a bus garage and a park.

Viewers have labelled the series as “heart breaking” as it follows the story of Paul Connolly who was abandoned in a dustbin as a baby and later ended up at St Leonard’s. William Starling, a former house parent, [15] was convicted of 19 counts of abuse of 11 residents, including a number at St Leonard’s, and sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment. [16]A] Sanctuary for the Abused http://abusesanctuary.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/for-survivors-coping-with-triggers-if.html However the abuse was obviously much more widespread. Even Daniel O’Malley, the Detective Inspector who headed the investigation, suggested there may have been as many as 70 victims – with 30 abused by Starling alone [4] , but the figures will be far higher, and as well, I have been told that the sexual abuse was happening in the 50's and 60's. There's MUCH more where that came from! Want all the jaw-dropping stories from the world of showbiz and up to the minute news from TV and soaps? In the Archdiocese under the name of “Safe Communities” an office has been established to assist clergy, parish personnel and staff within our institutions to understand and live by nationally recognised standards of professional behaviour. There is an ongoing process of audit to ensure that these standards are adhered to. On my first night I wet the bed and a nurse scrubbed me in bleach and said 'That's what we do to whoever wets the bed here'," he said.