The Kraken Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 Justice at last. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-48608863 Massive kudos to all the lads involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadhall Saint Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 Good - should have been longer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 Wow, proper sentence is that and nothing less than he deserves. I know a lad involved in this and the impact of Higgins behaviour has changed lives but hopefully all victims can now have a degree of closure. Big respect to Merrington too. Had he not stopped the bus that day and demanded answers from those boys, and then blown the whistle, this would have carried on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabbage_Face Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 Throw away key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALWAYS_SFC Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 Shoot him in the ******** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Wolf Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 Sorry but how is this justice?! He's walked around scott free for the last goodness knows how many decades now, he'll spend his life in free accommodation and free food. He's ruined countless people's entire lives. Not just the people he abused but their friends and families as well. I don't agree with hanging either because it's too quick and merciful. He and anyone else who does this to a child should suffer. Don't understand why we experiment products on innocent animals when we have pieces of garbage like this. Hope the **** gets the most aggressive form of cancer there is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Wayman Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 Sorry but how is this justice?! He's walked around scott free for the last goodness knows how many decades now, he'll spend his life in free accommodation and free food. He's ruined countless people's entire lives. Not just the people he abused but their friends and families as well. I don't agree with hanging either because it's too quick and merciful. He and anyone else who does this to a child should suffer. Don't understand why we experiment products on innocent animals when we have pieces of garbage like this. Hope the **** gets the most aggressive form of cancer there is. Not sure why you think his life in jail will be a stroll in he park, there are some pretty hard nuts in there who operate their own justice system beyond the reach of the security guards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the saint in winchester Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 Wow, proper sentence is that and nothing less than he deserves. I know a lad involved in this and the impact of Higgins behaviour has changed lives but hopefully all victims can now have a degree of closure. Big respect to Merrington too. Had he not stopped the bus that day and demanded answers from those boys, and then blown the whistle, this would have carried on.[/quote] Sorry for not knowing but can you tell that story as I am unaware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 Wow, proper sentence is that and nothing less than he deserves. I know a lad involved in this and the impact of Higgins behaviour has changed lives but hopefully all victims can now have a degree of closure. Big respect to Merrington too. Had he not stopped the bus that day and demanded answers from those boys, and then blown the whistle, this would have carried on.[/quote] Sorry for not knowing but can you tell that story as I am unaware. This all came to light when Merrington was travelling back from a game with youth team and heard the lads talking about what was going on. Merrington stopped the bus, asked what was happening, then blew the lid on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ooh it's a corner Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 This all came to light when Merrington was travelling back from a game with youth team and heard the lads talking about what was going on. Merrington stopped the bus, asked what was happening, then blew the lid on it. I'm confused by this. Did Merrington blow the whistle on this many many years ago? In which case, why has this only come to trial now and how did Higgins stay in role for so long? If Merrington blew the whistle, surely the police would have carried out their investigation and put Higgins in jail a long time ago? Or is this a recent stopping of the bus? Sorry if I am covering old ground Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derry Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 For the life of me I don't understand why it didn't come out before. I was involved in local football in the 60s and 70s, his name was out there with a question mark against it. I heard it mentioned periodically. I had nothing to do with Saints but a lot of people were aware of the suspicions. There were also others that were mentioned in the same vein, not with Saints though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derry Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 I'm confused by this. Did Merrington blow the whistle on this many many years ago? In which case, why has this only come to trial now and how did Higgins stay in role for so long? If Merrington blew the whistle, surely the police would have carried out their investigation and put Higgins in jail a long time ago? Or is this a recent stopping of the bus? Sorry if I am covering old ground He was charged years ago but acquitted??????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 I'm confused by this. Did Merrington blow the whistle on this many many years ago? In which case, why has this only come to trial now and how did Higgins stay in role for so long? If Merrington blew the whistle, surely the police would have carried out their investigation and put Higgins in jail a long time ago? Or is this a recent stopping of the bus? Sorry if I am covering old ground Yes. This was years ago and led to the 1st trial in 1991 ish. The investigation resumed many years later leading to the recent conviction and sentence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 No idea what's going on with the thread - it looks like I'm replying to myself!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ooh it's a corner Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 Got it thanks. I'd missed the original collapsed case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Brightside Posted 12 June, 2019 Share Posted 12 June, 2019 For the life of me I don't understand why it didn't come out before. I was involved in local football in the 60s and 70s, his name was out there with a question mark against it. I heard it mentioned periodically. I had nothing to do with Saints but a lot of people were aware of the suspicions. There were also others that were mentioned in the same vein, not with Saints though. Was thinking this too. I remember as a kid it was playground gossip in the 80’s so really can’t understand if his name was known then that this didn’t come out sooner. Tragedy he was able to stay in the shadows for so long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamesaint Posted 13 June, 2019 Share Posted 13 June, 2019 The BBC programme on Higgins is worth watching. It is on iPlayer for another couple of weeks. It is said that the past is a different country. Hopefully this sort of thing wouldn't happen nowadays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint in Paradise Posted 13 June, 2019 Share Posted 13 June, 2019 Wasn't a poster on Saintsweb a victim of that scumbag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelpie Posted 13 June, 2019 Share Posted 13 June, 2019 The BBC programme on Higgins is worth watching. It is on iPlayer for another couple of weeks. It is said that the past is a different country. Hopefully this sort of thing wouldn't happen nowadays I watched Dean Radford's impassioned statement on the BBC this afternoon. Very courageous to go public. He was a good footballer, and it is horrendous to think about what he and others suffered while in the Saints Academy This shames the club forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelpie Posted 13 June, 2019 Share Posted 13 June, 2019 I watched Dean Radford's impassioned statement on the BBC this afternoon. Very courageous to go public. He was a good footballer, and it is horrendous to think about what he and others suffered while in the Saints Academy This shames the club forever. Correction: this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurosaint Posted 13 June, 2019 Share Posted 13 June, 2019 The BBC programme on Higgins is worth watching. It is on iPlayer for another couple of weeks. It is said that the past is a different country. Hopefully this sort of thing wouldn't happen nowadays I watched it last night and it answers most of the questions asked on here ! It's called 'Saint and Sinner' ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfc1971 Posted 13 June, 2019 Share Posted 13 June, 2019 For the life of me I don't understand why it didn't come out before. I was involved in local football in the 60s and 70s, his name was out there with a question mark against it. I heard it mentioned periodically. I had nothing to do with Saints but a lot of people were aware of the suspicions. There were also others that were mentioned in the same vein, not with Saints though. Merrington was the one who "blew the Whistle" Higgins got away with it caused a scene and resigned but got work elsewhere. It was only years later ex youth lads called the charity hotline, made complaints to the Police and His name kept being mentioned then the Police took it seriously. There is more to come yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceandfriendly Posted 14 June, 2019 Share Posted 14 June, 2019 Not sure why you think his life in jail will be a stroll in he park, there are some pretty hard nuts in there who operate their own justice system beyond the reach of the security guards. Unless it's been reported otherwise, chances are he'll spend the vast majority of his sentence in a child sexual predator facility, surrounded by likeminded felons. It's done for their own safety, as like you said they'd likely be destroyed by other inmates in regular prisons - which you could argue they should be, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintsLoyal Posted 14 June, 2019 Share Posted 14 June, 2019 probably isle of wight as thats got a wings now solely for nonces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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