Eugene Devoti

A 79-year-old retired music teacher, Eugene Devoti, has been jailed for seven years after being found guilty of sexually assaulting teenage boys at a now-closed children's home in Birmingham. The offences occurred during his time as a nightwatchman at the Tennal Assessment Centre in Harborne, where he and co-defendant Arthur Birch exploited their positions to abuse vulnerable youngsters in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The Tennal Assessment Centre housed dysfunctional and deprived children, many of whom were pre-pubescent and came from challenging backgrounds. Devoti and Birch, both employed as nightwatchmen, were responsible for supervising the dormitories during nighttime hours. According to court proceedings at Birmingham Crown Court, the pair would tour the dormitories, offering cigarettes and chocolate to the boys aged 12 to 15, before subjecting them to indecent assaults. The trial, which concluded in June 2001, heard testimony from 26 men who were victims at the time, detailing the systematic abuse that ruined their futures.

Judge Laurence Marshall, presiding over the case, addressed Devoti directly during sentencing on 28 September 2001, stating: 'It has been demonstrated to the court that you and Mr Birch used your positions to satisfy your perverted desires. You were entrusted by society, which this court represents, with the care of these children during the hours of the night. Many of the children who were vulnerable and came from deprived backgrounds were pre-pubescent and their introduction to sex was through abuse practised against them by you and Mr Birch.' Devoti was convicted on five counts of indecent assault, while Birch faced seven counts of indecent assault and three more serious sexual offences, with his sentencing adjourned.

Both men, who denied all charges, were cleared of 20 additional counts. Devoti resided at Rising Lane, Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire, at the time of the trial. The case was prosecuted under the jurisdiction of West Midlands Police, highlighting historical child abuse at the institution, which closed in the mid-1980s. This sentencing underscores the long arm of justice in addressing past sexual offences against children.