John Smyth, described as the “most prolific serial abuser” associated with the Church of England, escaped justice for decades due to a systematic cover-up and ineffective police response. The Makin review revealed that Smyth used his position in a Christian charity to assault over 100 children and young men, with his crimes stretching back to the 1980s.
The Ruston report, compiled in 1982, documented horrific details of Smyth’s abuse, including victims being beaten hundreds of times with canes until they bled. Despite having evidence of his crimes, people within the Church of England kept this secret, allowing Smyth to move to southern Africa and continue his abuse. He was even put on trial for the suspicious death of a 16-year-old boy in Zimbabwe, but the case collapsed.
Police were first alerted to Smyth’s crimes in the summer of 2013 when a victim sought counseling through the Bishop of Ely’s safeguarding adviser. However, Cambridgeshire Police initially determined that the case was unlikely to meet the threshold for a criminal investigation. Hampshire Police first received a report of abuse in October 2014 from the Titus Trust, but they were unable to identify specific victims.
The investigation remained stagnant until 2016 when Thames Valley Police received a full copy of the Ruston report. Even then, little action was taken. The police cited being overwhelmed by a surge in historical child sexual abuse allegations, particularly in the wake of the Jimmy Savile case.
It wasn’t until 2017 that police finally launched a formal investigation (Operation Cubic), and this was primarily due to press reporting by Channel 4 News. Andrew Graystone, a survivor advocate, criticized the police for not being “sufficiently curious” about the extent of Smyth’s crimes.
In 2018, the Crown Prosecution Service agreed there was a case to answer and began arrangements to bring Smyth back to the UK for questioning. However, he died that same year, meaning he would never face prosecution for his extensive crimes.
The case has led to significant criticism of both the Church of England and law enforcement. The Archbishop of Canterbury recently resigned after being criticized in the Makin review. The National Police Chiefs Council acknowledged that in the past, many victims had been failed and that the approach to tackling child sexual abuse needed improvement.
The Smyth case represents a tragic example of institutional failure, where systematic cover-ups and bureaucratic inertia allowed a serial abuser to continue harming children for decades. It highlights the critical need for more robust safeguarding procedures and a more proactive approach to investigating historical abuse allegations.
