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Three British evangelicals cast blame on each other in trials over child abuse at Albanian orphanage

The orphanage, a large brick house in Tirana's old quarter, promised shelter to the city's abandoned street children, who came barefoot and clutching siblings in search of a place to rebuild their lives, writes Paul Lewis in Tirana.
For five years, dozens of boy and girls passed through the gates of 32 Dervish Hekali Street, run by British missionaries in Albania's capital.

But what should have been a sanctuary for vulnerable boys and girls became the site of one of eastern Europe's most shocking child sex abuse scandals. Three evangelical Britons, including the director of the orphanage, David Brown, have been accused of abusing children in their care.

The trials of Brown, 57, and two helpers at his shelter - Dino Christodoulou, 45, a social therapy nurse from Blackburn in Lancashire, and Robin Arnold, 56, a salesman from Cromer in Norfolk - have barely been reported outside Albania.

But disturbing testimony from children delivered by video link to a small Tirana court will have far-reaching repercussions for child protection mechanisms between the UK and other countries.

Full 950-word feature at The Guardian.