Idyllic British island was home to paedophile Catholic monks who abused over 50 children
A remote Welsh island known for its idyllic beaches and medieval church was the site of systematic child abuse spanning three decades, a damning new report has revealed.
At least 54 children, some as young as three, were sexually abused on Caldey Island between 1960 and 1992 by both monks and laymen.
The 540-acre island, located off the Pembrokeshire coast, is home to a Cistercian Order of monks and just 40 full-time residents.
Father Thaddeus Kotik, who died in 1992, emerged as the primary perpetrator, targeting both girls and boys who visited the island with their families or on Catholic youth group trips.
The report revealed Kotik used elaborate grooming tactics, keeping a pet tortoise and kittens to attract children before luring them to the island’s dairy or hidden coves.
He would overwhelm parents with attention, offering babysitting services and small gifts to gain their trust.
His background was built on deception. While claiming to have fought with the Polish Free Army in World War II, including at D-Day, investigators found he was actually an ‘Eastern worker’ in a German camp in 1944.
This false military history helped him obtain British citizenship in 1959, three years after being ordained into the Cistercian Order.
Kevin O’Connell, who waived his right to anonymity, was first abused by Kotik at age nine after visiting the island as an altar boy. “TK took me again to the ruins,” he told the inquiry. “To this day I can’t remember much what happened, but it scared me badly and affected me all my life.”
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The independent review, led by former assistant police commissioner Jan Pickles, found Kotik employed “conscious and complex strategies” to abuse children “in plain sight”.
O’Connell, who launched the Caldey Island Survivors Campaign, says more needs to be done. “If they don’t get this right, I will continue until I destroy Caldey Island.”
He advocates for the National Trust to take over the island and “send the monks packing.”
The current Abbot of Caldey Abbey, Father Jan Rossey, has issued a profound apology for the historical abuse and subsequent cover-up.
“It is with deep sorrow and regret that I have read in the review of the great suffering of children who were abused by Father Thaddeus Kotik and the closed culture of secrecy and cover-up which kept this hidden,” he said.
He acknowledged clear failures in child protection: “It is particularly heartbreaking to hear children spoke up to adults and no action was taken.”
“Children and their families were failed when they should have been supported and listened to. The abuses should have been reported to the statutory authorities.”
Today, Caldey Island remains a popular tourist destination, welcoming over 60,000 visitors annually who take the half-mile ferry from Tenby during summer months.
The island is known for its chocolate factory, bluebell woods and pristine beaches.
Father Rossey has confirmed that “many safeguarding improvements have been put in place” since becoming Abbot last year.
Details of these new protective measures can be found on the Caldey Island website’s safeguarding page.
However, survivor Kevin O’Connell maintains that safeguarding should be “totally independent” of the monks and run with input from victims who “know what victims went through.”