ARTHUR BIRCH JAILED IN BIRMINGHAM FOR SEXUAL ABUSE AT CHILDREN'S HOME

In October 2001, a Birmingham pensioner was sentenced to eight years in prison for multiple sex assaults on vulnerable young boys at a care facility where he was employed. Arthur Birch, aged 82 and residing on Wisley Way, Quinton, Birmingham, was convicted of seven counts of indecent assault and three counts of a serious sexual nature during a trial held at Birmingham Crown Court in June.

Birch, a former soldier known as the 'Desert Rat' for his service in North Africa during World War II, committed these acts at the Tennal Assessment Centre in Harborne during the 1970s and 1980s. The facility closed in the 1980s.

His co-defendant, Eugene Devoti, aged 79, was sentenced earlier in September to seven years after being found guilty of five counts of indecent assault at the same centre.

During the sentencing on Friday, Judge Laurence Marshall condemned Birch, stating that he had 'grossly abused' his position and significantly impacted the lives of his victims. Addressing Birch, who was seated in a wheelchair in the courtroom, the judge acknowledged his age and health conditions, which influenced the reduction of his sentence.

"The trial required young men, whose lives had been shattered by what you and your co-defendant did, to confide in the public about their most horrible memories," said Judge Marshall. "By your actions, you caused these boys to run away, where they only survived by turning to crime."