Shining a light

Jimmy Savile

Simon Cole can pinpoint the moment his life took a wrong turn. It was the 1970s, and scout leader Rod Corrie, who would later be convicted of repeated child sex abuse charges, put his hands down Simon's trousers. Simon was 10 years old. Fear lodged in his psyche, where it has remained ever since. The act, the first of many, took only minutes, but the repercussions have lasted a lifetime.

Simon, growing up on Sydney's lower north shore, was academically bright and a keen sportsman. Now middle-aged, externally he has created a successful life - as a senior government policy adviser - but he is battling anxiety, depression and occasional suicidal thoughts.

Although a good-looking man who has attracted his fair share of female interest over the years, he remains single; intimacy is something he has never managed to figure out.  (more...)

Shining a light