Halifax care home manager sexually abused children for decades, court hears

Malcolm Phillips, 92, is accused of abuse between 1976 and 1994, while former assistant is alleged to have helped him

A care home manager in West Yorkshire isolated and sexually abused vulnerable and “unwanted” children using his “unfettered access” to them over a period of almost two decades, a court has heard.

Malcolm Phillips, 92, is accused of “using children for his sexual gratification” at Skircoat Lodge care home in Halifax between 1976 and 1994. His assistant of 16 years, Linda Brunning, 66, is accused of helping him abuse children at the home and indecently assaulting one boy herself.