Overview
- A jury in a trial of facts last year concluded that Malcolm Phillips committed multiple sexual offences at Skircoat Lodge between 1976 and 1994, but a court ruled he was unfit to be sentenced.
- On Monday, the judge issued an absolute discharge for Phillips because of age‑related illness and cognitive decline while imposing a 10‑year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and lifetime sex‑offender register requirements.
- Linda Brunning, Phillips’s former assistant, was convicted in February and was sentenced on Monday to 25 years for her role in restraining and aiding sexual abuse of children at the home.
- Survivors attending the hearing expressed anger and distress that Phillips will not go to prison, and Calderdale police urged other victims to come forward and publicised support services.
- The case recalls a previous 2001 conviction of Phillips for offences at the same home and has prompted the launch of the 'When You Are Ready' support campaign and broader scrutiny of how care homes allowed long‑running abuse.