IN January 2017 I stood in a room full of victims, journalists and legal professionals at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belfast as Sir Anthony Hart delivered the findings of his exhaustive report into the historic abuse of children in State and Church care.
There were many tears shed that day. One man, wearing an oversized suit, sobbed throughout; his head bowed, his shoulders shaking with emotion.
He was a man in his 50s. But on that day he was transported back to his days as a terrified little boy, with no family to protect him, abused daily in a cold, loveless children's home where he spent his childhood.
He told me later that he had bought the suit in a charity shop because he wanted to look smart. "This is our big day", he said. "If a man like Mr Hart believes us then we're not just the 'bad children' from the home."
And Sir Anthony Hart did believe the victims. He gained their trust. He made a space in his inquiry where they felt safe to tell their story; stories some of them had never told before.
"Unspeakable," the retired judge said of the systemic abuse his team uncovered.
It took almost three hours to read his summing up that day. Afterwards the victims gathered together, some cried giant, wet tears of relief, some shouted out loud "we've been vindicated".
The10-volume, 2,300-page harrowing report Sir Anthony Hart and his team produced into the abuse suffered by hundreds of children from 1922 to 1995 will stand as his a legacy - a testament to the man he was.
He was a man who believed in justice, in fairness, that all from the most humble to the most righteous should be treated equally under the law.
Like the 30 victims who give evidence in front of the retired judge and have since died, he never got to see the report and recommedations he made through to its conclusion.
He never got to see those who put their trust in him receive the redress he recommended.
But there is no doubt they will always be grateful for that day in south Belfast when one man, who they had put so much faith and trust in, said 'I believe you'.
