Mother of Stephen Beck abuse victim had to be hospitalised

The furious mum, who cannot be identified, said she was hospitalised with a “stress related condition” after learning that her son had suffered years of abuse under her nose.

She told the News Shopper said she believes Beck, 73, of Anerley Road, will have abused more children and said she was speaking out to urge them to come forward.

She attended Croydon Crown Court on Monday (June 17) to watch as Beck was sent to prison for a catalogue of offences against her then teenage son.

The victim, now in his 30s, did not attend the sentencing hearing. He is entitled to lifelong anonymity, meaning his mother must also remain anonymous.

“This is the best day I’ve had in six years,” she said as Beck was sent down. “I hope he rots in eternal hell.

“Up until my son came forward, he still had free, open access to children. That was my biggest concern – that he was still holding art lessons.

“He used to do kids’ face painting at local fetes and things like that. The guy was so well-known in Anerley. Just like Rolf Harris, Jimmy Savile, he was hiding in plain sight. It’s the best place to hide.”

Beck – a failed popstar who claimed he had a friendship with David Bowie – was an award-winning teacher who hosted art classes at Anerley Town Hall.

His crimes included a sex attack on the boy inside that government building.

He was jailed for 12 years on Monday after being convicted of 15 sexual assaults on the boy, starting when his victim was just 13-years-old.

The victim’s mother attended every single court hearing, she said. Even when she couldn’t go inside the courtroom, as she was due to appear as a witness, she still attended and sat in the building.

The court heard how the victim revealed his childhood abuse to his wife in 2018.

Judge Deborah Charles described how the man’s wife was awoken by him shaking her and telling her she needed to call an ambulance for him.

Stephen Beck was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Monday, June 17, having been found guilty of 15 sex offences after a trial in April (Image: Charles Thomson)

“He had a nervous breakdown,” his mother told the News Shopper.

“I received a phone call from our daughter-in-law in the small hours, with the news that [he] had woken her to tell her that he had been raped.”

“As soon as I knew what had happened, the first name that came to my mouth was [Beck],” she said.

She had harboured “suspicions” that Beck may be abusing her son at the time, she said – but when she asked him, he denied it.

After finally admitting the abuse, the court heard, the victim began self-harming.

The realisation that her suspicions had been right, his mother said, “hit me hard”.

In a victim impact statement prepared for prosecutors, she wrote that her “guilt” had “eaten her alive” ever since.

“Our life was turned on its head,” she wrote. She suffered “six years of disturbed sleep and waiting for another call.”

The trauma affected her concentration at work, eventually forcing her to reduce her hours, putting financial strain on her and her husband.

“It has understandably had an impact on both our home life and marriage,” she wrote.

“I believe my whole family was groomed and I now struggle with trust issues as a result. He touched the most precious thing in my life: one of my children.

“I still struggle to trust men – even those I have known for years – off the back of this, and I don’t know if that will ever change.”

Bromley artist Stephen Beck, who won an award for running art classes for children at Anerley Town Hall, has been jailed for 12 years for sexually abusing one of his students (Image: Metropolitan Police)

“One can only imagine the sense of betrayal they must feel,” Judge Charles said of the victim’s family.

Beck failed to show up at court for the verdict, claiming he was ill. But after the jury convicted him, he was remanded into custody to await sentencing.

The boy’s family had feared he would flee otherwise, as he had family in India.

Defence barrister Kate Chidgey told the court on Monday (June 17) that Beck accepted that as a consequent of his sentence, he would never see his sister in India again.

He was going to prison for “what may well be the rest of his life,” she said.

Beck limped into the dock for his sentencing wearing a wrist guard, dabbing his eyes with a tissue throughout the hearing.

“That little old man act didn’t wash with me,” the victim’s mum told the News Shopper.

“He has given my son a life sentence. But I am happy with today’s sentence because at his age, he’s not going to see outside again.”