SHOCKING REVELATION: ART HISTORIAN ROGER TOOK FROM LONDON COMMITTED HORRIFIC CHILD ABUSE AND TOOK HIS OWN LIFE
In a disturbing series of events that have sent shockwaves through the British art and social communities, Roger Took, a renowned art historian and former director of the Barbican Art Gallery, was found dead on July 29, 2011, after taking his own life by lying down on a railway line at Ealing Broadway in West London.His death came shortly after his release from prison in July 2011, where he was placed in a probation hostel in Ealing.
At the time of his death, Took was facing additional child abuse charges, which cast a dark shadow over his previously esteemed reputation.
Back in September 2008, Took’s life and career were already under scrutiny amid allegations of heinous crimes.
His involvement in child abuse was not only proven in court but also revealed through chilling online chat logs where Took boasted about depraved acts involving children.
These logs detailed his participation in and admiration for the abuse and murder of a young girl in Cambodia, a crime he claimed to have been part of enjoying with others.
The police, after arresting Took in April of the previous year, questioned him about these allegations.
He dismissed the chat logs as mere fantasy, prompting authorities to escalate the case to Interpol due to the severity of the content.
The explicit chats, which included descriptions of violent and sexual acts against children, painted a disturbing picture of Took’s mindset.
He used the pseudonym ‘Dad of 2 Superkids’ and posted images of his step-granddaughters, Grace, aged nine, and Gillian, aged eleven, inviting others online to fantasize over them.
The judge presiding over his sentencing, Judge Blacksell, described the chat logs as ‘unrestrained filth and depravity of the worst type,’ highlighting the extent of Took’s moral corruption.
In February, Took was sentenced to a minimum of four and a half years in prison, though his sentence was indeterminate due to the gravity of his crimes.
The court found him guilty of 17 counts related to child abuse, including molesting his step-granddaughters and possessing a vast collection of illicit images.
Police recovered 260 photographs from Took’s laptop, including 102 classified as ‘Level 5,’ indicating images of children being tortured or raped.
Among these was a photograph of a baby being violated, and many images depicted children shackled or in pain.
The police also found thousands of other images on his main computer, but a broken hard drive prevented full recovery.
Further evidence uncovered during the raid included a locked case containing photographs of naked young Russian women, believed to be prostitutes, some of whom were engaged in sexual acts with Took.
Clippings of children’s hair and 742 chat logs of a sexual nature involving children were also discovered, totaling over 1,500 pages.
In these logs, Took posed as ‘Dad of 2 Superkids,’ sharing images of his step-granddaughters and encouraging others to fantasize about them.
Judge Blacksell condemned the chat logs as ‘the worst type of depravity,’ and emphasized that Took’s respectable social standing and professional reputation had allowed him to carry out his heinous acts undetected for years.
Many of Took’s colleagues in the art world appeared to downplay or excuse his behavior, even pressuring his wife, Pat, to keep the matter quiet.
This silence and the high-profile nature of Took’s career contributed to a muted public response compared to other notorious paedophiles like Gary Glitter.
Following his conviction, Took’s wife, Pat, a talented painter, was devastated to learn the truth about her husband’s double life.
She had met Took 25 years earlier, when he was a charming man who courted her and her children, seemingly with good intentions.
However, it later emerged that Took married her for her money and had a predilection for teenage girls, which the family initially dismissed as harmless jokes.
It was only later that they discovered his true obsession extended to very young children, including a disabled three-year-old girl named Cathy, whom Took allegedly molested and bragged about in chat rooms.
Cathy’s mother, Jennifer, expressed her anguish, recounting her daughter’s birthday and how Took appeared attentive but was secretly abusing her.
Pat and her family’s lives were turned upside down when police arrested Took at Luton Airport in April 2011, after a holiday in the Dominican Republic.
The police had instructed her to remain silent during the investigation to gather evidence without alerting Took.
The period of silence was agonizing for Pat, who described it as the worst six weeks of her life.
When the truth finally surfaced, Took was sentenced to an indeterminate term, but due to his high social standing and the support he received from friends and colleagues, many of whom wrote letters of support, the full extent of his depravity was not immediately apparent to the public.
Throughout the court proceedings, Took’s supporters portrayed him as a ‘gentle, kind, caring man,’ despite the overwhelming evidence of his crimes.
His wife, Pat, gave a brief but powerful statement, describing her shattered trust and the heinous damage inflicted on her family.
The court acknowledged that Took’s respectable façade had enabled him to prey on vulnerable children, exploiting his standing in society to access them in private settings.
Experts and police officers involved in the case emphasized that Took’s addiction to children was progressive and extremely dangerous.
Detective Sergeant Kevin Hudson and Detective Constable Steve Dobson, who led the child protection investigation, expressed their concern over Took’s apparent lack of remorse and his dismissive attitude towards the harm he caused.
They also revealed plans to investigate approximately 130 other individuals linked to Took via the internet.
Despite his incarceration, Took is appealing his sentence.
He is eligible for parole in just over three years, having already served nearly a year on remand.
Authorities remain vigilant, warning that individuals like Took, who have used their social standing to commit such crimes, pose a continuing threat to society.
The case underscores a harsh reality: child abuse can occur behind the most luxurious doors, often hidden behind a veneer of respectability and success.
It is a stark reminder that paedophiles are not confined to any particular social class or environment but can be found in the highest echelons of society, including art circles, academic institutions, and elite social gatherings.
As the investigation continues, the tragic story of Roger Took serves as a chilling warning about the hidden darkness that can lurk behind the facades of respectability, urging society to remain vigilant and uncompromising in the fight against child abuse.
