14-05-2025
'Monster' care home boss who was one of Britain's worst paedophiles as he abused youngsters for decades dies in jail
A children's home boss who was serving a life sentence for sexual abusing young boys has died aged 83.
John Allen was found guilty of committing historical sexual abuse against 18 boys and one girl aged between seven and 15 at his residential care home in Wrexham, North Wales.
He was serving a life setnece at HMP Bure where he spent 11 before dying aged 83, the prison has confirmed.
A prison service spokeswoman said: 'HMP Bure prisoner John Allen died on 3 May 2025. As with all deaths in custody, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.'
Allen had already spent six years in jail over abuse in the 1970s and avoided prosecution in 2003 over more alleged attacks when legal proceedings collapsed.
He ran the Bryn Alyn Community, with a string of properties mainly in the Wrexham area, accommodating about 200 youngsters.
Allen repeatedly abused children between 1976 and 1992 and was found guilty at three separate trials as more victims came forward.
In 2014, he was jailed for a minimum of 11 years for sex crimes before he was found guilty in 2019 of seven further counts of indecent assault and one of a serious sexual offence against children as young as 13 after further victims came forward.
He was sentenced to a further 14-and-a-half years.
The 1990s Waterhouse inquiry into the abuse of children in care in North Wales said 28 former male residents alleged they were sexually abused by Allen.
At his 2014 trial prosecutor Eleanor Laws QC said: 'Victims said the staff appeared to be either fearful of him or were colluding with him.
'He created what has been described as a sexualised atmosphere within the homes, alongside a culture of fear.
'He was seemingly, without being called to account, able to sexually abuse these boys on a regular basis.'
The 2014 case against Allen was the first prosecution after an independent investigation was launched by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in 2012.
The investigation, named Operation Pallial, looked into allegations of past abuse in the care system.
Allen had already spent six years in jail over abuse in the 1970s and avoided prosecution in 2003 over more alleged attacks when legal proceedings collapsed.
In 1995, after Allen was jailed for six years over a string of offences against young boys, an inquiry was launched to look at the abuse of children in Gwynedd and Clwyd areas.
Following its publication in 2000, more complainants came forward with claims they had been abused.
But the case was stunted by a Crown Court judge who reportedly ruled that Allen would not receive a fair trial because of the publicity about his previous convictions.
Speaking after his sentence, an NSPCC spokesperson said: 'John Allen was supposed to be caring for vulnerable boys but instead took advantage of his position to commit child sexual abuse on a massive scale.
'The fact he has been brought back to court and given further jail time for these terrible crimes is thanks to the bravery of the victims in coming forward and sharing their stories.
'We now hope these individuals receive all the care and support they need to put these horrendous experiences behind them.'
It comes after earlier this year, a former Bryn Alyn care home resident who abused a boys at the facility also died while behind bars.
Graham Joseph Stridgeon was imprisoned in 2018 after he admitted three counts of sexual assault at the care home.
Stridgeon, who was 18 or 19 years old at the time of the offences, originally pleaded not guilty to eight historic sexual assaults on young boys abut changed his plea before his trial was due to start.
He was initially jailed for three and a half years but after his sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal for being unduly lenient, it was increased to five years and 10 months in prison with an extended licence period of three years.
The prison service confirmed that Stridgeon died at the Wymott Prison on February 16 of this year aged 70.
