Record pay-out in sex abuse case

A man who was sexually abused for years in a Fife children's home been awarded a pay-out of £150,000. Lawyers believe the sum which Tam Wilson, 52, is to receive is the highest damages ever paid for a case of its kind in Scotland. Mr Wilson was abused in the St Margaret's Children's Home in Elie over a six-year period in the 1960s. The claim arose after David Murphy was jailed in 2001 after pleading guilty to gross indecency and sodomy. Obviously this money is a bonus on top but no amount of money can take away the way I felt Tam Wilson Mr Wilson was taken into care by the local authority when he was six years old and sent to St Margaret's. His tormentor was jailed for 15 years after admitting a catalogue of abuse against boys he was supposed to be looking after while working as a "house father" in St Margaret's. He later died in prison. As he left the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Wednesday, Mr Wilson said: "I never really came for the money. At the start of this I came for the acknowledgement that I had been abused. "Obviously this money is a bonus on top, but no amount of money can take away the way I felt, especially over the six years since I started this court action. "It has been terrible. Most of my life has been like living in a bubble - just looking out at everybody like you are in a different world from everyone else." Start new life Mr Wilson said he moved to Northumberland to make a new start and get away from his past. The sex assaults Murphy committed while working at St Margaret's have resulted in 39 claims for compensation against Fife Council - of which two are still outstanding. Douglas Sinclair, chief executive of Fife Council, said: "We have offered compensation to victims abused by Mr Murphy whilst he was employed by the local authority. "He has committed appalling acts of abuse which no amount of compensation will ever make up for. "I hope that this settlement today will contribute in some small way towards Mr Wilson's ability to come to terms with what happened to him whilst in the care of staff at St Margaret's." Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/4946642.stm