Accused molester dies in apparent suicide

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LONDON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A man accused of abusing hundreds of boys while running a London children's home apparently took his own life as his trial was about to start, authorities said.

Police found John Darby, 71, unconscious in his apartment in Hunstanton, Norfolk, Nov. 4, The Daily Mail reported. He died Wednesday.

Darby suffered from diabetes and investigators said he might have deliberately overdosed on insulin. A warrant had been issued for his arrest when he failed to show up at Blackfriars Crown Court in London for a hearing.

Investigators said he molested and photographed boys at the Hollydale Children's Home in South London between 1971 and 1983. The investigation began when a man who lived at the home saw Darby on the street and assaulted him.

Last year, Darby pleaded guilty to making pornographic pictures of boys.

One man said he had looked up to Darby as a "father figure" and thought at the time that being molested was normal.

"He is better off dead because of the amount of pain he has caused," the man said. "It just goes so deep. It is a wonder that many of us are still around."