A convicted British pedophile has been sued by five Filipinos who claim that he had abused them during the years he lived in the Philippines.
Douglas Slade, a former resident of Angeles City in Pampanga province, was sued for damages by his alleged Filipino victims at the High Court of Justice in England. The trial began yesterday.
According to the BBC, the alleged victims — four men and a young boy — will testify via video. Slade, who is serving a 24-year sentence, will also appear via video from his prison on the Isle of Wight.
Slade denied the charges, claiming that they are a “total fabrication.”
The case is considered the first of its kind because the alleged victims are suing the British citizen in the United Kingdom for sexual abuse that occurred outside the UK, said The Telegraph.
The Independent reported that Slade was the founding member of a group called the Pedophile Information Exchange in the UK, which campaigned for the removal of the age of consent to make it legal for adults to have sex with children.
However, Slade’s notoriety extended beyond his home country. He lived in the Philippines for 30 years starting in 1985 and was accused of preying on young boys.
ABS-CBN News reported that Slade’s house in Angeles City was located near a school, which made it easy for him to seek his victims, some of whom were as young as 8 years old. According to the Philippines’ Bureau of Investigation (BI), Slade “invited young boys to perform sexual acts for him in exchange for money.”
Five cases were filed against him in the Philippines but they were all dismissed.
Despite not being convicted in the Philippines, the BI deported him in 2015.
Said then Commissioner Siegfred Mison: “[W]e find that Slade’s reported acts pose a significant risk and threat to our children’s well-being– a concern which is considered in the utmost interest of the State.”
When Slade returned to his home country, he was convicted of sexually abusing five boys in the UK between 1965 and 1980. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
One of the fathers of those suing Slade from the Philippines encouraged other victims to pursue a case against the British national.
“They should be like us, we did not get blinded by money, we fought for it because we fought for the rights of our children,” he said.
And the repercussions of being victimized by Slade could last for years. According to one of the Filipinos suing Slade: “Many people avoid me and think that I have a disease because of what I did. I’m teased. I am too embarrassed to get out of the house.”
