Convicted paedophile John Allen sentenced for further historic sex offences

Former children's care home owner, John Allen, has been sentenced to 14-and-a-half years for more historic sex offences against children.

The 78-year-old was found guilty of seven counts of indecent assault and one of a serious sexual offence against five young boys who at the time, had been placed in his care.

The five victims were between the ages of 12 and 16 when they were first abused between 1976 and 1992.

Allen is already serving a life sentence for similar offences and since 2014, he has now been convicted of sexually abusing 24 children.

This new sentence will run concurrently with Allen's life sentence.

The earliest release date from his life sentence was September 1 2025 - when he could have be considered for parole. This date will now be put back further.

Allen had denied all 16 charges of indecent assault, two of illegal sex acts and two of trying to carry out other illegal sex acts but was found guilty of eight of those charges in December 2019.

Judge Rhys Rowland said that the prison sentences he had previously received did not fully reflect the extent of his depravity or his sheer wickedness in taking advantage of vulnerable young victims.

The judge also said that in one case of indecent assault the defendant encouraged two other men to take advantage of a youngster, the three of them acting together.

Allen's convictions are part of the National Crime Agency's Operation Pallial.

Allen ran 11 children's homes based in the Wrexham area. The predatory paedophile had no care qualifications when he set up the company named Bryn Alyn Community, which went on to become a highly profitable business.

He ran the care homes for 20 years and they were one of the UK’s largest providers of residential care for children.

Allen would sexually abuse the boys under his care in one of his many cars, offices, at hotels or in the snooker room at his home in Wrexham where he was living at the time.

Allen would give the children cash and buy them gifts including new bicycles after each incident.

Many of Allen's victims said they felt no-one would believe their word against Allen, who was said to be intelligent, charismatic and articulate.

In 2014 one of Allen's victims, Stephen Fong, spoke to ITV Cymru Wales about his experiences and how he is still trying to come to terms with both the physical abuse and the sexual grooming that happened over 30 years ago.

In reaction to the latest sentence, an NSPCC spokesperson said John Allen "took advantage of his position to commit child sexual abuse on a massive scale."

NCA Senior Investigating Officer Philip Marshall praised the victims for their bravery in coming forward. He added: “Allen used his position of trust to abuse boys who were young, vulnerable, and from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“He controlled and manipulated his victims, and rewarded them by giving cash and gifts that any young boy would want.

“Allen and others who committed crimes against defenceless children in North Wales care homes have been brought to justice, and I hope their victims can take some comfort in that.”

Allen was first arrested by North Wales Police regarding allegations of sexual abuse of children in care on December 6 1993. He was convicted of six counts of indecent assault and sentenced to six years in January 1995.

After Allen’s conviction, North Wales Police began to receive additional complaints from previous residents.

Operation Pallial – the independent NCA investigation into allegations of past abuse in the care system in North Wales – began in November 2012 at the request of Mark Polin, who was the Chief Constable of North Wales Police at the time.

Thirteen people have been convicted under Operation Pallial. There is one further trial scheduled for later this month for Mark Granger, 69, from Leicester, who was charged with serious sexual offences.

Stepping Stones charity provides therapeutic services to adults who have been sexually abused as children across the region of North Wales. You can contact Stepping Stones on 01978 352 717.