The children of the Church of England’s most prolific serial abuser have revealed how their father tore their family apart. John Smyth groomed and abused more than 100 boys and young men from the 1970s until his death in 2018, a church report found. He was accused of attacking boys he had met at the camp in Dorset at his Winchester home during the 1970s and 1980s. His victims reported receiving as many as 800 lashes of the cane, sometimes causing them to bleed. In the documentary, PJ and his siblings recall the life of torment caused by their father and confront their mother to ask her why she remained loyal to her husband for so long.

Source: The Times December 07, 2025 08:00 UTC