UK: Transgender ex-Broadmoor patient talks of Jimmy Saville abuse
A transgender man, who was a former patient of Broadmoor Hospital, has spoken of being sexually abused by the veteran entertainer Sir Jimmy Savile.
Steven George, who was known as Alison Pink while at the high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire, has told the BBC that the former Radio 1 DJ was given keys to the building and was treated like a member of staff and “had the run of the place”.
Mr George, who left Broadmoor in the 1990s, said he told the police about the incident but they did not believe him:
“In the 1970s [Saville] started visiting Broadmoor and he used to come and watch television, usually Top of the Pops, and normally he would go to Lancaster House ward, between 7.30 and 8 when Top of the Pops was on… the incident where he sexually abused me happened on one of those occasions”.
Mr George added: “No one would have believed us – historically people in mental hospitals are never believed,” Mr George wants the “enablers” of the abuse to be brought to justice.
The Department of Health (DoH) is now investigating the 1988 decision to appoint Savile as head of a taskforce overseeing Broadmoor hospital.
The complex houses about 260 patients, all of whom are men since the female service closed with most of the women moving to a new service in Southall, west London, in September 2007.
Although Broadmoor is home to a large number of convicted criminals such as David Copeland, who targeted London’s gay, black and Asian communities with a series of nail bombs in 1999, is it officially an NHS facility and not a prison.
Savile, who presented Top of The Pops and Jim’ll Fix It in the 1970s and 80s, died in October 2011, aged 84 but sexual abuse allegations against him have only emerged in the past month.
Police investigating claims of abuse against Savile say the estimated number of victims has risen to around 60.
