The shock factor to this has left me cold. Of course I didn’t know he was an abuser.

But realising a high profile TV personality is abusing his power and also very sick isn’t that remarkable, is it?

We talk about institutional racism. This is institutional exploitation. It’s not the institution that makes racists or paedophiles or homophobes, it’s us. Society.

The sadness I feel is for those affected. And the difficulty in exposing your abuser takes monumental courage.

One of the most important things for those who’ve been abused is some confession from the perpetrator; a confirmation that it happened even.

Abusers can convince their victim that there’s nothing wrong, it’s only affection or they find them irresistible …This can’t be for these victims and I think the journey to regaining some emotional/psychological balance for them will be even harder.

I suppose the signs were all there. Working with children, having them sit on his lap, and then being a benevolent figure (huge giver to charity) which makes people think: ‘Him? I don’t believe it. He’s such a nice, good person.’

Yes we were all duped in a way.

For me, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Sexual abusers often hold positions of power. The tangle of differing views on them is often what stops victims speaking up: who would believe them?

Yes, strip him of his knighthood. Replace his headstone with something plain. Give the victims a voice: let them speak of their horrors.

Beyond that, what? The man’s dead.

Lived a happy life with every opportunity to ruin young girls’ lives, Had no problem finding places and opportunities to do so and died with all the glory of a saint.

My last point is this. This is representative of possibly millions of similar (and worse) situations in the UK.

There are boys and girls suffering abuse of this kind now, today with people who aren’t famous. People who live in our community, who are liked and hold down good jobs.

These sad and pained young people also need to speak. To take courage from the people who’ve spoken up about a celebrity who abused them and exploited his power as well as those who trusted him.

I don’t think we can entirely guard against sexual abuse. What I’d hope is that this high profile story will bring the reality, the potentially staggering statistics of sexual abuse into people’s consciousness. One man, over forty girls and women. More still hidden without a doubt.

This crime is still in the dark. It needs to come out into the light and become part of the things we can now talk about without that scandalous, lascivious tone it invites.

Maybe one day…