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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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. 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.

When Paul Connolly was just two weeks old, his mother put him out with the rubbish. “one of the neighbours heard me crying and called the police. They came and got me, and I was taken away by social services.” Born the seventh boy of eight children to an Irish Catholic family in Stratford, in london’s east end, he spent his earliest years living with nuns in a convent. Bill Starling, had indecently assaulted, raped or buggered 11 victims – aged from just five to 14 – over a 20-year period. He was sentenced to 14 years. It came out, after certain reporting restrictions were lifted at the Old Bailey, that St Leonard's was not just a home for children without a place to go, but paedophiles. Speaking at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (“IICSA”) Connolly spoke of the horrors at St Leonards where children were snatched from their dormitories and raped. Sept 20 Brentwood Gazette Billericay dad's tale of turning life around is now set for TV http://www.brentwoodgazette.co.uk/Dad-s-tale-turning-life-set-TV/story-27800959-detail/story.htmlThe confrontation, which happened when Paul was 13 years old, meant that the abuse towards him stopped. Learning to read and write as an adult As Archbishop this recent meeting provided the opportunity for me to apologise for the grave damage caused by the sexual abuse by one of our priests. I was distressed by what this lady and her family have lived with for decades.

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. I encountered this in my meeting with her. Indeed, the abuse not only seriously damaged her but also flowed out to her family members, close friends and the wider community who were betrayed, in this instance, by a priest in whom great trust was placed.

Litigation

In 1995, a former resident informed the Director of Social Services at Tower Hamlets that he had been sexually abused whilst at St Leonard’s. As a result, the Metropolitan Police, in Operation Hamoon, interviewed a number of former residents and sent a file about the investigation to the Crown Prosecution Service. Four residents made allegations that Alan Prescott and Davies, who both worked at St Leonard’s in the 1970s, committed acts of indecent assault, buggery and indecency with children. The Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute. [10]

Instead, Paul began getting interested in boxing. Although he originally intended to become a professional boxing champion, this was no longer an option after an accident. Instead, he became a personal trainer/fitness coach and went on to become very successful with that. He now is married and has two boys. 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. Life has been anything but normal and the demons will never go away, but Paul has learned to smile at them as many of the people that predicted the worst for him are now where they told this vulnerable little boy he would end up. 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.His 2010 memoir, Against All Odds, in which he wrote about surviving his horrific childhood and becoming a personal trainer to a number of celebrities, details how he learnt to read aged 25.