“Hero”: London firefighter raped and abused his own children in the “House of Horrors”

A brother and sister who helped put their father in prison decades after he was raped and sexually abused as children are now raising their voices in the hope of helping other victims.

Former firefighter Brian John Doye was a pillar of south-east London’s community as he rose through the ranks in the London Fire Service in the 1970s and 80s.

But behind closed doors, Doye brutally sexually abused his children Gay and Mark.

Gay was ten when she caught her father raping her younger brother Mark on a family holiday when he was just six years old.

“One of the most difficult moments of my childhood that I struggle with is the immense guilt of leaving my little brother with him in the trailer,” Gay said.

But Doye insulted Gay in the same way, telling her that all fathers do this to their daughters and that he would kill her if she told anyone.

Brian John Doye, now 77, hid a cloak of respectability throughout his life (Image: South Wales Police) The abuse only ended when they left home at the ages of 16 and 18 – and they did not see their father again until April this year, when they faced him in court.

Doye, now 77, was sentenced to 28 years in prison after being found guilty of 28 child sex offences against Gay, Mark and a third victim who came forward in 2021.

Speaking to the News Shopper, Gay Melrose (now 56) and Mark Doye (now 53), after waiving their right to anonymity, said their father had been hiding in plain sight.

Mark said: “He was a senior officer in the London Fire Brigade, he tried to become a councillor, he was Santa Claus every year and he taught young girls gymnastics.

“Everyone he met respected and trusted him. No one knew what he was really doing. We didn’t know what he was doing was wrong, and even if we had known, we wouldn’t have been able to talk to anyone about it.”

“Nobody would have believed us if it was a man as powerful as him. He hid behind that power.”

Mark Doye and Gay Melrose described their father as a monster (Image: SWNS) During their childhood they lived in Sidcup, Gravesend and Welling.

When Doye took early retirement from the London Fire Brigade, he bought a general store in Woolwich.

Gay said: “We were the kids and from the outside it probably looked like we had a nice little life – we lived in a three-bedroom terraced house flat.

“I don’t think anyone would have believed us. People would have thought we were making it up. He always seemed to have everything under control.”

After moving out of home, Gay and Mark grew apart, largely because they understood, without saying anything, what each of them had been through.

“It drove a wedge between us, we couldn’t talk to each other,” said Mark.

“We didn’t want to ask that question. We knew what had happened and tried to suppress it, but in doing so we lost touch with each other.”

Doye later moved to South Wales where he abused a third victim, who reported the abuse three years ago, at which point police tracked down Gay and Mark.

After not seeing each other for over a decade, the siblings went to the police station together to denounce the abuse their father had inflicted on them.

Then they saw their father for the first time in almost five decades – in the dock at Swansea Crown Court.

During Doye’s testimony, privacy screens were used to block his view of the victims. But one afternoon, toward the end of the trial, the siblings entered the courtroom and saw their father sitting there.

Gay said: “It was the first time he had seen us since we were children. He turned his head and stared at us as if to say, ‘How dare you, you will pay for this.'”

Mark added: “It was the same look we got as kids and he thought we had done something wrong and we knew what was going to happen next.”

The siblings said their father tried to exert the same control over them as he did when they were children.

Gay said this had started even before the trial: “When he was arrested, after Mark and I went to the police, my son came to visit from Australia. We had a lovely time and I had posted some photos on my Facebook reels.

“He (Doye) had liked one of them. That really upset me. I had no contact with him for 40 years, then the police arrest him and he starts stalking my Facebook as if to say, ‘I’m watching you.'”

After years of separation, the siblings supported each other and gave each other strength throughout the entire process.

Gay said: “Now we have each other back in our lives, as well as our nieces and nephews and everything. It’s good.”

Mark and Gay said they were happy to be part of each other’s lives again (Image: Gay Melrose) When Doye was jailed in May, Judge Catherine Richards told him: “You managed to maintain an appearance of respectability until your mid-70s. But behaving like a decent man was a fraud. You are a paedophile with a deep-rooted sexual interest in young children.”

Judge Richards said it was remarkable that Doye’s victims had survived the abuse inflicted on them.

She added: “Survivor guilt is something this court sees a lot. This is misplaced. You have manipulated everyone around you into thinking you are something you are not. The only person responsible for the pain you have caused is, of course, yourself.”

At the sentencing, Gay faced her father and said, “Brian, from a young age you tried to destroy my inner soul and my entire well-being. But I persevered and held my head high. I am proud of the person I am.”

Gay and Mark fear that there could be more victims of their father’s abuse (Image: SWNS) Gay and Mark decided to waive their right to anonymity.

“Unfortunately, I’m sure there will be more victims of our father because he didn’t go from the ’70s and ’80s into the 2000s without doing something in between,” Gay said.

“We thought that if we made our names known and told our story, it would help other victims come forward.”

This was especially important for Mark because there is a stigma attached to male victims of sexual abuse.

“There are not many boys or teenagers who speak openly about their suffering,” he said.

“I just wanted to get my name out there so I can tell people you did nothing wrong. You don’t have to hide. Keep your head up.

“Why shouldn’t my name and photo be published? He’s the one who’s in the wrong. He’s the one behind bars.”

“I hope someone sees this and thinks: ‘If they can do it, I can do it too.'”

Gay and Mark have also founded a support and counseling group for victims of child sexual abuse and former victims of child sexual abuse.

TEDDY (the acronym stands for “Tell Everybody Don’t Doubt Yourself”) aims to raise awareness and encourage a change in attitudes towards victims of child sexual abuse.

Over time, they hope to grow the organization into a charity staffed by qualified professionals to help victims of child sexual abuse.