January 30, 2023 8.30 pm This story is over 17 months old

Charity suing sex offender who preyed on young girls

‘Trying to get back nearly £160,000 in compensation and legal fees’
Maurice Berry. | Photo: North Yorkshire Police

The charity Action for Children is reportedly suing a sex offender who lived in Lincolnshire and preyed on young girls in a children’s home in North Yorkshire.

Maurice Berry, 67, was jailed for 13 years in 2019 after a trial at York Crown Court, which heard that he “preyed on” victims at May Lodge Children’s Home in Scarborough, where he was the deputy manager.

He lived in North Somercotes in Lincolnshire before he was jailed.

Berry, who is now serving his sentence at HMP Moorland near Doncaster, is said to have climbed into their beds at night and touched them, exposed himself to them, and also tried to rape one of the little girls, according to the Daily Mail.

Berry was arrested at his home in Lincolnshire after one or more of the victims came forward to police on 2017.

After his conviction, the two younger victims, who are now grown women, claimed damages for personal injury against Action for Children, formerly called the National Children’s Home, saying it was “liable for Berry’s offence”.

The charity is now trying to get back nearly £160,000 in compensation and legal fees from Berry, according to the Daily Mail. The report states that the charity has tried to seek agreement with Berry but he has “failed to engage” so it has taken court action as a last resort.

The Lincolnite contacted Action for Children for a statement, but the charity said it is a legal matter and it has no further comment to make at this time.

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