Care worker who helped boss with child abuse jailed for 25 years

Care worker who helped boss with child abuse jailed for 25 yearsJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleEmma GlasbeyYorkshire home and social affairs correspondentBBCMalcolm Phillips was found unfit to stand trial due to old age and ill-healthA former children's home manager and "master manipulator" who abused youngsters in his care has been told he will not go to prison - as his female assistant was jailed for 25 years for helping his attacks. Malcolm Phillips, 93, "cultivated a culture of fear" at Skircoat Lodge in Halifax, committing sexual and physical offences against four girls and two boys between 1976 and 1994.Phillips, who was deemed unfit to face a criminal trial, was given an absolute discharge by the judge at Bradford Crown Court, who said she was "bound by the statutory framework".Linda Brunning, 67, was found guilty of indecently assaulting a boy and helping Phillips sexually abuse another boy in the 1980s and 90s. Phillips had faced charges of rape, indecent assault and indecency with a child, but was deemed unfit to face a criminal trial so faced what is known as a trial of facts.Unlike a normal case, in a trial of facts a jury cannot find the person guilty - instead it determines if they committed the alleged offences. Although they cannot be convicted, they can be acquitted.The trial concluded in January and a jury found Philips, now living in Birmingham, had carried out the offences.He watched the hearing earlier on video link from his home. As well as an absolute discharge, he was also given a sexual harm prevention order. If you are affected by any of the issues in this story, help and support is available at BBC Action Line.West Yorkshire PoliceLinda Brunning worked as Malcolm Phillips' assistant at Skircoat Lodge Summing up, Judge Kirstie Watson told Phillips that together with Brunning, he committed "vile abuse" against children.She called him a "master manipulator" who "set...