Clive Peter Niblett

Clive Peter Niblett, aged 73, has been sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment at Guildford Crown Court for a series of historic sexual offences committed against children in the 1970s and early 1980s. The offences occurred at two children's homes: Palmerston House in Romsey, Hampshire, where Niblett worked in the mid-1970s, and Burbank Children’s School in Woking, Surrey, where he served as the live-in manager in the late 1970s.

Niblett was found guilty of 13 charges, including two counts of indecency with a child, nine counts of indecent assault, one count of sexual activity with a child, and one count of attempted sexual activity. The victims were five boys aged between 10 and 15 at the time of the abuse. He targeted them by grooming with gifts such as drinks, sweets, and cigarettes, exploiting his position of authority to perpetrate the assaults.

The case came to light following Niblett's guilty plea in 2016 to six offences of indecent assault, sexual contact, and attempted sexual contact against two young boys at the same homes between April 1975 and April 1976, for which he received an eight-year sentence. Compensation claims by those victims prompted three additional survivors to come forward, leading to a Surrey Police investigation into allegations spanning 1975 to 1983.

• One victim, now 58, told the court: “I stand before you, a 58-year-old man whose life was irrevocably altered in childhood. The innocence of my youth was not lost; it was stolen, stolen by a man who wielded his authority as a weapon against the most vulnerable.”
• Another victim shared in his impact statement: “The nightmares, the sleepless nights - each a vivid reliving of the abuse - have been a torturous reminder of the horrors I endured. The defendant, whose heart harbours no remorse, continues to haunt my days and nights.”

Acting Detective Inspector Ross Linaker from Surrey Police’s Complex Abuse Unit, which led the investigation, stated: “Niblett targeted young boys, grooming them by giving them gifts and preying on their vulnerabilities by making them feel they had no choice but to comply with the things he inflicted upon them. His offending has deeply affected them all and I hope that the fact he has finally been brought to justice will bring them some peace.” The conviction on 17 January 2025 underscores ongoing efforts to address non-recent child sexual abuse, with police encouraging other potential victims to report incidents regardless of the time elapsed.