From the archive: How did one of the worst paedophiles in history get away with his crimes?

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.3 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 16 February 2022

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

We are raiding the Audio Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2016: For more than 40 years, William James Vahey drugged and abused hundreds of pupils at international schools around the world. A Guardian investigation reveals that, despite numerous opportunities to stop him, nothing was done. By Robert Booth. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the Guardian.
0:10.4	Just to say, before we start that this audio-long read
0:14.0	does talk about cases of child sexual abuse.
0:17.8	Hello, I'm Robert Booth,
0:19.2	I'm the social affairs correspondent at the Guardian,
0:22.2	and I wrote,
0:23.0	How did one of the worst pedophiles in history
0:25.9	get away with these crimes?
0:27.2	The articles about a 64-year-old teacher called Bill Vahey
0:31.2	from the US who spent 42 years working in international schools
0:35.2	that places were diplomats and multinational executives
0:39.2	send their children while they're away on foreign postings
0:43.2	and the staff tend to move between these different schools
0:47.2	that go from continent to continent.
0:49.2	So, international schools have historically been
0:51.2	a closed, highly interconnected world,
0:55.2	and that means that maintaining relationships
0:57.2	is absolutely vital for career progression
0:59.2	and speaking out against things like suspicions
1:03.2	that someone might have been abusing children
1:05.2	could be career threatening.
1:07.2	The article was published in June 2016,
	...

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