Daughter of Nicky Campbell's alleged abuser says she's in 'awe' of radio host
BBC presenter Nicky Campbell has spoken with the daughter of an alleged paedophile teacher who he claims abused him as a boy.
He met Jenny Pearson, 64, who spoke out for the first time about her late father Hamish Dawson – branding him an “abomination”.
She discovered the “truth” about her dad after Nicky, 61, went public about the alleged physical and sexual abuse he suffered and witnessed as a pupil.
The therapist has since been devoted to helping her father’s victims who went to Edinburgh Academy in the 1970s.
She said: “Knowing I am the daughter of a paedophile, it’s repulsive, shameful.
Nicky Campbell says net closing on paedo ex-teacher as star hails 'Edgar' probe
Radio presenter Nicky Campbell (WalltoWall)“It’s disgusting. I’ve spent my whole professional life fighting for the rights of children and young people.”
Jenny was on Nicky’s BBC Radio 5 podcast Different after contacting him when he named Dawson as one of three teachers allegedly involved in abuse.
She lived at the boarding school and claims she was violently abused by her father, who died in 2009. Jenny, from Edinburgh, also said she was emotionally abused by her mother, who died in 2014.
Nicky revealed the extent of Dawson’s attacks on a podcast last year.
Despite the impact on her family, Jenny is not angry at Nicky’s disclosures.
Jenny Pearson and her father HamishShe tells him: “Absolutely not, I was the opposite, I was in awe of you.
“It was a huge vindication of the terror I experienced growing up.
“There are no words to describe my parents. They were an abomination.”
Nicky claimed the history teacher would put him and some of the other boys on his knee while groping them.
In his original podcast, he claimed Dawson would draw on the boys, aged 12 or 13, in class with a felt tip pen.
Teacher accused by Nicky Campbell of sexually abusing boys appears in court
Nicky added: “That’s when he felt the inside of my leg and stroked my penis.”
Nicky Campbell as childJenny, who was joined by her dad at her 1980 wedding, said hearing the claims helped to make sense of her past.
She added: “From 14 to 19 I never saw my father... he was always with the boys.
“I didn’t miss him but I resented him leaving us with a maniac mother.”
Jenny also claimed “horrific” material relating to women slaves was later found on Dawson’s home computer.
She said she has spent hours speaking to survivors of her father’s alleged abuse, adding “They were extraordinary conversations. But they also reawakened memories, some very graphic.”
Jenny in Gran Canaria in 2017Jenny said the claims made her question why Dawson took “early retirement” aged 56.
There is no suggestion the school knew of the abuse or covered it up.
Nicky has also been on the trail of one of the teachers, known as “Edgar”.
He previously admitted abusing boys at schools in Edinburgh during the 60s and 70s but then moved to South Africa.
After Nicky said he was beaten by him, a man claimed he was abused by Edgar in Cape Town in the 1980s.
The host is campaigning to extradite Edgar to face justice in the UK.
Nicky Campbell speaks to the daughter of his alleged abuser in his podcast (GETTY)Edinburgh Academy said: “We are appalled by the reports of historic abuse.
“Schools should be safe places and we encourage anyone who has been the victim of abuse to contact the police.
“We continue to work closely with Police Scotland and the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.”
- BBC 5 Live Different podcast with Nicky Campbell is on BBC Sounds.
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