FILES REVEAL SEXUAL ABUSE AT KNOWL VIEW SCHOOL IN ROCHDALE
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Rochdale Rapist
According to recently uncovered files, at least 25% of the 48 pupils at Knowl View, a special school in Rochdale, experienced severe sexual abuse, with victims including boys as young as eight years old. These children were reportedly exposed to risks such as AIDS through prostitution and relationships with notorious sex offenders.
The documents did not explicitly name Sir Cyril Smith, but his name was associated with the abuse. Whistleblower and former head of care at Knowl View, Martin Digan, expressed concerns that Smith was among those abusing boys at the facility. He claimed to have verbally reported his suspicions to police and the council. In 2013, the Crown Prosecution Service acknowledged that Smith should have been prosecuted in the 1960s for abusing young boys, including allegations of raping boys at Knowl View and at Cambridge House Children’s Home.
Sir Cyril Smith was a long-standing figure connected to Knowl View, serving on its board of management while he was a Rochdale councillor. Originally a Labour councillor, he later became a Liberal and then a Liberal Democrat MP for Rochdale from 1972 to 1992. Smith passed away in 2010 at age 82.
This week, former pupil Chris Marshall recounted how he was sexually abused by Smith at the age of seven or eight, after being summoned from his bed in the middle of the night.
Martin Digan, who became head of care in the final year of Knowl View’s operation—when Cyril Smith was its chairman of governors—revealed that he was given access to a dossier detailing abuse suffered by vulnerable boys at the school. On November 17, he described the school as a ‘sweet shop for paedophiles’ and immediately called for its closure.
He was appalled to discover that young boys were being transported into Manchester to meet men willing to pay for sex, and that known paedophiles had been allowed into the residential school at night to commit abuse.
Digan handed the dossier to police and to Diana Cavanagh, the council’s head of education, in 1994. Following this, the school was designated for closure. He stated, “There was only one reason for Cyril Smith to be on that governing body. He knew their vulnerability and saw an access to young boys. What I was successful in doing was making sure it didn’t go to LMSS (Local Management of Special Schools). And I sacrificed my career for this.”
Digan expressed regret that Cyril Smith’s predatory nature was only fully revealed 18 years later. After the school’s closure—widely believed to have been caused by a fire—Digan was made redundant amid intimidation from angry local residents. He described facing ridicule and comments from strangers, saying, “It is sad that children who said they were sexually abused haven’t been believed. This is 18 years too late for these children. And there will be parents who don’t even know that their children have been abused.”
He also cited at least one former pupil who took his own life due to the abuse suffered at Knowl View, while others turned to violence. Digan explained, “I raised the alarm as soon as I had time to digest what was in those files. When I was appointed head of care, I was given access to the files and I acted on it. The place was in disarray and in the death throes, and the writing was on the wall that it had to close. Thanks to my doctor, Dr. Nick Dawes, I was strong enough to bring this forward. He signed me off sick immediately with stress because I couldn’t go back there.”
Digan further expressed concern that Smith was pushing for the school to be under a policy called Local Management of Special Schools, which would have given him full control over Knowl View.
A Rochdale Council spokesman stated, “Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council has been made aware of alleged abuse that is said to have occurred at Knowl View School, which closed in 1995, and at Cambridge House Hostel for Boys, closed in 1965. It should be noted that Cambridge House was not operated by Rochdale Council. An investigation into these matters is currently being undertaken internally by the Council and also by the Police. As public comment may prejudice any ongoing investigations, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
Historical records show that David Higgins was convicted of abusing boys there in 1971. In 1991, a report by a Rochdale Health Authority AIDS specialist warned that “sexual activity” at the school would be horrifying if made public.
Recent revelations link Methodist minister Paul Flowers, who was vice-chairman of Rochdale Council’s social services during the time Knowl View was supposedly a ‘sweet shop for paedophiles,’ to the scandal. Despite reports about abuse at the school, these were concealed from the public. The school, which served boys aged 7 to 16 with learning and behavioral issues, closed in 1995 after staff alerted authorities to ongoing issues.
Whistleblower Martin Digan criticized Flowers, asserting, “Flowers was one of many in Rochdale who knew what was happening and did not act. He was vice-chair of the social services committee in 1991 when several internal reports about sexual and physical abuse risk circulated. He knew what parents were never told—that the school was a ‘sweet shop for paedophiles.’”
Current investigations are examining Flowers’s tenure, amid mounting concerns about his conduct. Notably, Flowers has a history of controversy, including a failed criminal attempt in Southampton, a criminal conviction for gross indecency, and his resignation from the Co-op Bank amid scandals. Recently, police arrested Flowers on suspicion of supplying Class A drugs, including cocaine and crystal meth. The Co-op Bank has launched its own review, and Flowers has been suspended by both the Labour Party and the Methodist Church.
Since moving to Rochdale in 1986 to serve as a Methodist minister, Flowers has been embroiled in various scandals. His activities include being fined for indecency in 1981 and resigning from a parliamentary candidacy after his criminal record surfaced. As a councillor, he was involved in early investigations into abuse at Knowl View, with reports describing disturbing activities among pupils and reports of boys involved in homosexual activity, some involving adult men traveling from other cities.
Chris Marshall, a former pupil now 41, recounted that during his time at Knowl View, “Our lives were a living hell. Teachers would take pupils to public toilets in Manchester where boys would have sex with men traveling from all over the North. Men would come to the school and we were made to have sex with them. I was forced to perform a sex act on Cyril Smith, who we called the Fat Man. It had such an effect on us that some of the boys have either committed suicide or are in prison. I feel let down by the council because we were vulnerable children and they were supposed to take care of us but instead exposed us to such depravity.”
In a letter dated April 16, 1991, the social services director wrote to the local health authority, with copies to Flowers, detailing concerns about abuse that had already surfaced.
Amid ongoing inquiries, Rochdale Council has announced investigations into Flower’s time at the local authority. A council spokesperson admitted, “We have nothing to hide and want to move on from the past. It was a dreadful period, and although Rev Flowers was around at the time, whether he was involved is another matter.”
There is no direct evidence implicating Flowers in criminal activity at Knowl View. However, he faced personal upheavals, including suffering a suspected heart attack in 1990, as well as coming out as gay following his gross indecency conviction.
Recently, the Mail on Sunday released disturbing text messages between Flowers and a male escort, revealing his obsession with drugs and sex. These messages show plans for trips to Amsterdam with rent boys, with payment via telephone banking, and details of drug use including cocaine, crack, and ketamine. One message from October 29 describes plans to meet escorts and references simultaneously using drugs, including being “in a k-hole for 12 hours” after a drug binge.
This exposure has brought renewed scrutiny, with concerns about his heavily secretive lifestyle and substance abuse. As investigations continue, the full extent of his conduct remains under review.
The documents did not explicitly name Sir Cyril Smith, but his name was associated with the abuse. Whistleblower and former head of care at Knowl View, Martin Digan, expressed concerns that Smith was among those abusing boys at the facility. He claimed to have verbally reported his suspicions to police and the council. In 2013, the Crown Prosecution Service acknowledged that Smith should have been prosecuted in the 1960s for abusing young boys, including allegations of raping boys at Knowl View and at Cambridge House Children’s Home.
Sir Cyril Smith was a long-standing figure connected to Knowl View, serving on its board of management while he was a Rochdale councillor. Originally a Labour councillor, he later became a Liberal and then a Liberal Democrat MP for Rochdale from 1972 to 1992. Smith passed away in 2010 at age 82.
This week, former pupil Chris Marshall recounted how he was sexually abused by Smith at the age of seven or eight, after being summoned from his bed in the middle of the night.
Martin Digan, who became head of care in the final year of Knowl View’s operation—when Cyril Smith was its chairman of governors—revealed that he was given access to a dossier detailing abuse suffered by vulnerable boys at the school. On November 17, he described the school as a ‘sweet shop for paedophiles’ and immediately called for its closure.
He was appalled to discover that young boys were being transported into Manchester to meet men willing to pay for sex, and that known paedophiles had been allowed into the residential school at night to commit abuse.
Digan handed the dossier to police and to Diana Cavanagh, the council’s head of education, in 1994. Following this, the school was designated for closure. He stated, “There was only one reason for Cyril Smith to be on that governing body. He knew their vulnerability and saw an access to young boys. What I was successful in doing was making sure it didn’t go to LMSS (Local Management of Special Schools). And I sacrificed my career for this.”
Digan expressed regret that Cyril Smith’s predatory nature was only fully revealed 18 years later. After the school’s closure—widely believed to have been caused by a fire—Digan was made redundant amid intimidation from angry local residents. He described facing ridicule and comments from strangers, saying, “It is sad that children who said they were sexually abused haven’t been believed. This is 18 years too late for these children. And there will be parents who don’t even know that their children have been abused.”
He also cited at least one former pupil who took his own life due to the abuse suffered at Knowl View, while others turned to violence. Digan explained, “I raised the alarm as soon as I had time to digest what was in those files. When I was appointed head of care, I was given access to the files and I acted on it. The place was in disarray and in the death throes, and the writing was on the wall that it had to close. Thanks to my doctor, Dr. Nick Dawes, I was strong enough to bring this forward. He signed me off sick immediately with stress because I couldn’t go back there.”
Digan further expressed concern that Smith was pushing for the school to be under a policy called Local Management of Special Schools, which would have given him full control over Knowl View.
A Rochdale Council spokesman stated, “Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council has been made aware of alleged abuse that is said to have occurred at Knowl View School, which closed in 1995, and at Cambridge House Hostel for Boys, closed in 1965. It should be noted that Cambridge House was not operated by Rochdale Council. An investigation into these matters is currently being undertaken internally by the Council and also by the Police. As public comment may prejudice any ongoing investigations, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
Historical records show that David Higgins was convicted of abusing boys there in 1971. In 1991, a report by a Rochdale Health Authority AIDS specialist warned that “sexual activity” at the school would be horrifying if made public.
Recent revelations link Methodist minister Paul Flowers, who was vice-chairman of Rochdale Council’s social services during the time Knowl View was supposedly a ‘sweet shop for paedophiles,’ to the scandal. Despite reports about abuse at the school, these were concealed from the public. The school, which served boys aged 7 to 16 with learning and behavioral issues, closed in 1995 after staff alerted authorities to ongoing issues.
Whistleblower Martin Digan criticized Flowers, asserting, “Flowers was one of many in Rochdale who knew what was happening and did not act. He was vice-chair of the social services committee in 1991 when several internal reports about sexual and physical abuse risk circulated. He knew what parents were never told—that the school was a ‘sweet shop for paedophiles.’”
Current investigations are examining Flowers’s tenure, amid mounting concerns about his conduct. Notably, Flowers has a history of controversy, including a failed criminal attempt in Southampton, a criminal conviction for gross indecency, and his resignation from the Co-op Bank amid scandals. Recently, police arrested Flowers on suspicion of supplying Class A drugs, including cocaine and crystal meth. The Co-op Bank has launched its own review, and Flowers has been suspended by both the Labour Party and the Methodist Church.
Since moving to Rochdale in 1986 to serve as a Methodist minister, Flowers has been embroiled in various scandals. His activities include being fined for indecency in 1981 and resigning from a parliamentary candidacy after his criminal record surfaced. As a councillor, he was involved in early investigations into abuse at Knowl View, with reports describing disturbing activities among pupils and reports of boys involved in homosexual activity, some involving adult men traveling from other cities.
Chris Marshall, a former pupil now 41, recounted that during his time at Knowl View, “Our lives were a living hell. Teachers would take pupils to public toilets in Manchester where boys would have sex with men traveling from all over the North. Men would come to the school and we were made to have sex with them. I was forced to perform a sex act on Cyril Smith, who we called the Fat Man. It had such an effect on us that some of the boys have either committed suicide or are in prison. I feel let down by the council because we were vulnerable children and they were supposed to take care of us but instead exposed us to such depravity.”
In a letter dated April 16, 1991, the social services director wrote to the local health authority, with copies to Flowers, detailing concerns about abuse that had already surfaced.
Amid ongoing inquiries, Rochdale Council has announced investigations into Flower’s time at the local authority. A council spokesperson admitted, “We have nothing to hide and want to move on from the past. It was a dreadful period, and although Rev Flowers was around at the time, whether he was involved is another matter.”
There is no direct evidence implicating Flowers in criminal activity at Knowl View. However, he faced personal upheavals, including suffering a suspected heart attack in 1990, as well as coming out as gay following his gross indecency conviction.
Recently, the Mail on Sunday released disturbing text messages between Flowers and a male escort, revealing his obsession with drugs and sex. These messages show plans for trips to Amsterdam with rent boys, with payment via telephone banking, and details of drug use including cocaine, crack, and ketamine. One message from October 29 describes plans to meet escorts and references simultaneously using drugs, including being “in a k-hole for 12 hours” after a drug binge.
This exposure has brought renewed scrutiny, with concerns about his heavily secretive lifestyle and substance abuse. As investigations continue, the full extent of his conduct remains under review.