Heinous actions tore their lives apart, but one-by-one their words brought saw justice finally served

One-by-one they came forward. Each one had come from a troubled background peppered with violence, drugs, alcohol and crime.

They all had suffered with agonising mental health problems, some to the extent where they tried to take their own lives.

And every single one had been molested, humiliated and abused at a time when they were most in need of help.

Now, after thirty years, they had their time to speak their truth.

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The two men who connected them are now behind bars. David Marsh, 74, and Anthony Whitehead, 72, were both jailed at Minshull Street Crown Court after a jury unanimously found them guilty of 35 sex offences on the boys during the 1980s and 90s in Rochdale.

At their sentencing hearing, the court heard harrowing victim personal statements from a number of the victims. They cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The first to speak appeared over videolink from prison. With his statement in hand, he revealed his tragic background which had led him to a cell.

“As a child my father was an alcoholic and when he was drunk he was violent towards me, my siblings and my mother. As a young child I was hit with a leather belt, a slipper and my father also slapped me with an open palm,” he said.

“The violence scared me as a child and as a result caused me to run away from home. When I ran away from home I ended up living on the streets of Rochdale, this happened from the age of eight-years-old.

“Whilst living on the streets I used to shoplift in order to get food and drink to survive. When I was going through puberty I met David Marsh. David was really friendly, we used to have a laugh and a joke.

“He made me feel