A lawyer for a victim of abuse at the notorious former Kincora boys’ home in Belfast has said she is hopeful that a compensation case will proceed to full hearing.
At Belfast High Court on Monday, it was alleged that police were obstructed from investigating a paedophile at the home because he was a state agent.
Claire McKeegan, who represents former Kincora resident Gary Hoy, said there was relief that there had finally been a hearing in court on the issues.
The Kincora home, close to Stormont’s Parliament Buildings, opened in May 1958.
It closed in October 1980 after a sex abuse scandal.
Three senior staff at Kincora – William McGrath, Raymond Semple and Joseph Mains – were jailed in 1981 for abusing 11 boys.
Former residents Mr Hoy and Richard Kerr are suing a number of statutory agencies, including the police and the Home Office.
Their lawsuit includes claims for assault and battery, misfeasance in public office, breach of statutory duty and negligence.
The PSNI and Home Office are attempting to have the actions against them struck out before the case proceeds to full hearing.
A barrister for the two former residents argued that police should have had a “in loco parentis” responsibility for vulnerable minors who were abused at Kincora.
Aidan McGowan said: “The police had become aware that vulnerable minor children who were within the care of the state were being abused by the people who were meant to be caring for them.
“In those circumstances there was no-one else who could act in loco parentis. On that basis we say they had assumed this status.”
The barrister then told the court that a key element of their case was that the state was running former Kincora housemaster McGrath as an agent.
He said: “They were using the abuse in order to use him as an agent.”
Mr McGowan said authorities enabled McGrath to target young victims so that information could be obtained about the hardline loyalist group Tara, of which he was a member.
He added: “That was the factor they were able to use against William McGrath to get the information.
“Otherwise there was no hold over William McGrath for the defendants to use him as an agent.”
PSNI barrister Fiona Fee denied that police had assumed a statutory responsibility for residents of Kincora.
The judge said it was an extremely important and complex decision and he would not expect to issue a judgment before September.
Speaking outside court, Ms McKeegan said: “Today we are very relieved that after three years of this application brought by the PSNI and the security forces, we have had a full hearing of the issues.
“There was an application to strike out elements of our clients’ cases and to get out of the litigation and to get out of providing documents and disclosure about the abuse that occurred at Kincora.
“Our clients are relieved to have this step over with and look forward to September when hopefully we will get trial dates and proceed to a full hearing.”
The Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry found 39 boys were abused at Kincora.
The inquiry found no evidence security agencies were complicit.
A report by Marie Anderson, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, said complaints from some former residents about the failure of police to investigate allegations of sexual abuse at Kincora were “legitimate and justified”.
The home was demolished last year.
