Former Bay City Rollers manager Tam Paton was '100%' involved in a paedophile ring, a former children's home resident has told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI).
Witness Testimony
The witness, using the pseudonym Murphy, described how young boys were 'groomed' at parties at Paton's house in Edinburgh in the early 1980s. At the time, Murphy was in his early teens and a resident at Ponton House, a children's home in the city. He said he attended the parties because others were going.
Paton, who managed the Bay City Rollers during their most successful period, was jailed for three years in 1982 for sex offences involving teenage boys. He died in 2009.
Details of the Parties
Murphy told the inquiry on Friday that drugs and alcohol were available at the parties, and indecent films were shown. Older men would take underage boys off to rooms. He said two individuals he believed were judges attended, along with other professional people 'with their suits and fancy cars'.
Describing one incident, Murphy said: 'I was fed drugs in Tam's living room and a guy came and took me to a room. I took a knife with me. I took the knife out and the guy jumped up and told me he was a judge.' He then felt a pain in his head, fell unconscious, and was later taken away in a car.
Inquiry judge Lady Smith asked if attending the parties was initially a 'what's not to like' situation. Murphy replied: 'Yes, till it got sexual. At first it was drugs, then later it was like we were groomed. It was not like you were taken in and there were guys touching you, it was lots of times through the day and you got something to drink, then later on it would be at night.'
Connection to Other Offenders
Murphy also encountered convicted sex offender John Wilson, now in his 80s, who was jailed for over 12 years in December 2022 for sexual offences spanning 56 years, including assaulting three teenage boys. Murphy saw Wilson inside Ponton House, but Paton would wait outside in his car to pick up boys and take them to parties.
When older, Murphy became an 'enforcer' for Paton, finding boys for him, after being threatened with violence and told compromising pictures of him might be shared. James Peoples KC, lead senior counsel, asked if he was in any doubt that what was happening was a paedophile ring. Murphy replied: '100%'.
Murphy said he was not proud of procuring boys for Paton but was once threatened with a knife by someone acting for Paton and feared what would happen if he did not comply. Lady Smith asked how Paton made him feel, and Murphy answered: 'Terrified'.
Paton's Connections
Murphy suggested Paton used his connections with high-profile figures to get what he wanted. 'Tam was a man who liked to tell you what power he had. He didn't hide who he knew,' he said.
Murphy did not understand why he was placed in Ponton House, as it was more a hostel for older boys. Asked if staff knew what was going on and turned a 'blind eye', he replied: 'Yes, as far as I'm concerned.'
Ponton Trust Response
The Ponton Trust, which succeeded the Ponton House Trust, issued a statement in January condemning any abuse and apologising to any young person subjected to abuse while at Ponton House Boys' Residence.
The current phase of the inquiry is examining residential care for children in local authority and voluntary provider establishments. The inquiry continues.
