Care Home Abuse Victim Exposes Grooming Gang Horrors in Edinburgh
Holly Alex, a woman who endured abuse in council-run children's homes, has courageously waived her right to anonymity to speak publicly for the first time about being a victim of grooming gangs while in care. The 35-year-old has detailed her shocking experiences in a new book, aiming to help government and authorities understand the long-term damage vulnerable young people face from sexual predators.
Demands for a Full Public Inquiry
Ms Alex has strongly backed calls for a comprehensive public inquiry into the scandal. This comes after officials conducting a diluted review confirmed last week that there is no timeline for completion, with the first stage expected to take at least 18 months. She expressed frustration, stating, "For the government it's all about not wanting to be portrayed as racist."
She clarified her position, saying, "I don't hold the whole of an ethnicity responsible for what happened to me, but it happened and is still happening. It's being perpetrated by people who are of a certain ethnicity, yes, but regardless of whether it was white men doing it or another ethnicity, there still should be an investigation."
Ms Alex added, "How can you say that you protect young people and protect children if you're not willing to look at what's been going on for decades? It angers me."
Abuse in Council-Run Children's Homes
In 2003, following her father's imprisonment and a strained relationship with her mother, Ms Alex—then known as Holly Hamilton—was placed in Drylaw children's home and later Northfield children's home, both operated by Edinburgh City Council. It was during this time that she began socialising with Asian men who would go on to rape her.
She described the grooming pattern, "There were older girls who'd come for respite or temporary stay and they'd say: 'Do you want to head out tonight? I can get drink, weed, cigarettes.' That was the pattern. It was always Asian guys who would come and pick us up."
Her social work files document these events, including vehicle registration numbers and notes that she was socialising with "Asian males." Alarmingly, the records also show the teenager being blamed for her abuse, with one excerpt stating she was "engaging in severe risk-taking behaviour including underage sexual behaviour with inappropriate older males."
Years of Repeated Rape and Addiction
From ages 14 to 17, Ms Alex estimates she was raped by more than 20 men in various houses across Edinburgh. She recounted, "There were times I said I wasn't doing it, and I'd get a sore face or hurt, and there were other times where I'd just not go out. But I always ended up falling back into it, especially because I was so heavily addicted to alcohol, as I was just used to being given drink all the time."
Due to frequent absconding, she was eventually placed in St Katherine's secure unit, where residents face stricter restrictions. Tragically, this supposed place of safety became the site of further abuse, this time by a care worker employed to protect her.
Abuse by a Care Worker and Legal Justice
Care worker Gordon Collins, then in his mid-40s, preyed on 15-year-old Ms Alex. Her teenage diary played a crucial role in securing his conviction, a decade after she first reported the abuse to unit staff—only to be disbelieved at the time. Police later reopened the inquiry, and Collins was jailed for ten years in 2016 for abusing four girls, including Ms Alex. The sex predator died behind bars last year.
Long-Term Impact and Advocacy
The abuse left Ms Alex broken and dysfunctional for years. Only in the past four years has her life stabilised; she now lives near Glasgow with her labrador, Chance. Reflecting on her motivation, she said, "The number of girls who have been in the same situations as me and who aren't here today to tell the tale of what happened... it's tragic. That's partly why I wanted to write my book, so others can see there is a way out and to tell people what it is really like for children in care."
She emphasised the urgency of government action, believing an investigation into Scotland's grooming gangs is essential because "it is still happening today, and children are being badly let down." Her book, I Thought You Cared, is available on Amazon.
