Wolves Among the Sheep > CoE Paedos; Vice Principal; Youth Pastor

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Church of England forgave pedophiles en masse, allowed them to continue working with children, inquiry finds

A shocking new inquiry has found that, not only did the Church of England forgive some 400 pedophiles, but it allowed them to continue working with children.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) found that between 1940 and 2018, some 390 people employed by the church, as clergymen or in trusted positions, were convicted of child sex abuse. 

They were ‘forgiven’ for their crimes by the church and allowed to continue their duties, often in close proximity to children, the IICSA found. 

“The culture of the Church of England facilitated it becoming a place where abusers could hide,” the report reads. 

Unfortunately, they didn't just hide!

The inquiry found the church repeatedly failed to respond in a consistent manner to victims and survivors of abuse, compounding their trauma over a period of decades.

In 2018 alone, there were some 2,504 concerns raised about possible abuse of children or vulnerable adults, including 449 allegations of recent sexual abuse. 

“Over many decades, the Church of England failed to protect children and young people from sexual abusers, instead facilitating a culture where perpetrators could hide and victims faced barriers to disclosure that many could not overcome,” chair of the inquiry, Professor Alexis Jay said.

The IICSA lambasted the church for regarding forgiveness “as the appropriate response to any admission of wrongdoing.”

One such case highlighted is that of Timothy Storey, a man who was permitted to continue working with children after apologising “for everything he had done wrong.” Storey is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for multiple offences against young girls, including rape. 

As part of the findings announced Tuesday in the damning report, the panel found that record-keeping of abuse claims was “almost non-existent.”

The panel decried the church's willingness to pervert the course of legal justice by meting out its own 'forgiveness,' precluding sex offenders from being held responsible for their crimes and prevented from re-offending.

The church was also blasted for its handling of the reverend Ian Hughes scandal, in which he was convicted in 2014 of downloading 8,000 child porn images, including 800 in the most serious category. 

At the time, Bishop Peter Forster claimed Hughes had been “misled into viewing child pornography”.

The report further condemned what it dubbed as “tribalism” within the church, which placed loyalty to its own over the safety and wellbeing of children. It cited a “culture of fear and secrecy within the Church about sexuality” which then facilitated a climate of sex abuse.

The church issued an apology and expressed shame after the inquiry’s findings were released. “The report makes shocking reading and while apologies will never take away the effects of abuse on victims and survivors, we today want to express our shame about the events that have made those apologies necessary,” said the Bishop of Huddersfield, Jonathan Gibbs.

“The whole Church must learn lessons from this Inquiry. Our main focus in response must be recognising the distress caused to victims and survivors by the Church’s failures in safeguarding,” Gibbs added.

Should you not also recognize the sins you have committed against God in protecting evil men while endangering innocent children? You will stand to answer for these sins!

The inquiry held public hearings in July 2019, which led in part to the findings of the report. 

The panel made eight recommendations, including an improved complaints process for victims of abuse, the reintroduction of immediate expulsion from the church for anyone convicted of child sex offences, and improved funding and support for victims and survivors.

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Civil lawsuit filed against church, Fairfax School District, Ca, over ex-vice principal’s alleged sexual abuse of minor

By: Veronica Morley

ABC23

A civil lawsuit has been filed against Fairfax School District and Fairfax Assembly of God church over the alleged sexual abuse of a minor by a former vice-principal in the district and church board member, Donald Ricketts.

According to court documents filed Monday, Attorney Daniel Rodriguez argues that officials at the school and the church failed to listen to reports of the abuse and follow their own bylaws and training.

Rickets, who pleaded no contest in 2013 to lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and was sentenced to three years in prison, was at the time of the alleged abuse a board member of Fairfax Assembly. He also served as a youth camp supervisor/chaperone for Fairfax Assembly, youth teacher and/or counselor, group leader, and/or authority figure at Fairfax Assembly.

The Plaintiff in the suit, according to documents, was 11-years-old when the alleged abuse began and continued until the Plaintiff was 16. According to the documents, Defendants in the case knew or should have known of the alleged abuse.

Rodriguez said Tuesday that according to police reports, there was an incident at the church when a woman walked into a dark room and turned on the lights. Rodriguez said she found Ricketts inside the room with a little girl on his lap and "his hand in a place that it wasn't supposed to be."

The woman, according to police reports, alerted the church but the only action taken was Ricketts was told not to be alone with children, Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez also said that when the Plaintiff did disclose the abuse to church officials, she was kicked out of the church.

The documents argue that Defendants, including those within the Fairfax School District, failed to provide reasonable supervision of Ricketts during times when the abuse occurred. According to the documents, "Despite knowledge of the sexual misconduct of Defendant Ricketts, Defendants held Defendant Ricketts out as a man who was safe to be around minors."

Rodriguez said the decision to file the new suit stems to new law that took effect in January allowing survivors of childhood sexual assault to file a lawsuit up until the age of 40. Previously the law only allowed lawsuits to be filed up to the age of 26.

The Plaintiff in the case, now 28, according to the document, claims to suffer pain of mind and body, shock, emotional distress, and physical injury among other things.

Why were the Pastors and elders not charged with complicity? What a disgrace for a church!

Inquiry details allegations of sex abuse at hands of Bradford, UK, vicar,

Trevor Devamanikkam

By Jo Winrow, T&A

   

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s (IICSA) report into the Anglican Church details the full case against the late Reverend Trevor Devamanikkam.

It states: "Trevor Devamanikkam was ordained in 1977 (6th story on link) as a priest in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds. In March 1984, he moved to a parish in the Bradford diocese, where he remained until 1985. Devamanikkam retired in 1996 but between 2002 and 2009 had permission to officiate in the Diocese of Lincoln.

"Reverend Matthew Ineson is an ordained priest in the Church of England. During his teenage years, he had difficulties with his parents and went to live with his grandparents. His family were religious and attended church regularly. Matthew Ineson was a member of the church choir and an altar server. As his grandparents were struggling, a local priest organised a respite placement living with Reverend Devamanikkam."

The report states that in 1984, aged 16, Matthew Ineson went to live with Devamanikkam and his housekeeper. On his second night, Devamanikkam came into Matthew Ineson’s bedroom, put his hand underneath the covers touched him indecently. It continues: "When asked if he liked it, Matthew Ineson said no. This continued for two or three nights, and then progressed to Devamanikkam telling Matthew Ineson to share his bed with him. Devamanikkam made it plain that, if he did not do so, he would be thrown out of the vicarage and would have nowhere to go. While sharing a bed over a number of weeks, Devamanikkam raped Matthew Ineson at least 12 times and also sexually assaulted him."

"After approximately two months, Matthew Ineson’s grandmother came to the vicarage and spoke to Devamanikkam. Matthew Ineson was not part of that conversation and his grandmother left without talking to him. The next day, Matthew Ineson said that the Bishop of Bradford visited the vicarage and told him that he had to leave, saying that “It’s not my problem where you go but you have to leave here”. No reason was given.

"Bishop Roy Williamson (who was then Bishop of Bradford) told us that there was “disquiet about the arrangement” between Matthew Ineson and Devamanikkam but he did not remember visiting the vicarage. A licensed deacon at Devamanikkam’s church (who made a detailed report at the time about Devamanikkam’s mental health) said that it was the then Archdeacon of Bradford (David Shreeve) who had visited the vicarage. There was no written record of this visit.

"Reverend Ineson went to the police first in 2013 and then again in 2015. In 2017, the police investigated and charged Devamanikkam. Devamanikkam took his own life in June 2017, the day before his court appearance for three counts of buggery and three counts of indecent assault between March 1984 and April 1985, all relating to Reverend Ineson."

In addition the report details how the case of Matt Ineson demonstrated the "potential difficulties in imposing or upholding" a 12-month time limit on complaints. Although, since 2016 this time limit does not apply to allegations of child sexual abuse, it adds.

One Bishop was aware of the abuse at the time, and Mr Ineson, went on to disclose his abuse to senior Church leaders between 2012-2014, before making a Clergy Discipline Measure complaint in 2017.

The report states: "As regards his allegations against Devamanikkam and Bishop Williamson, this was in part because he thought that he would not be believed.

"At the request of the police, Reverend Ineson delayed making the remaining complaints while an investigation into Devamanikkam was ongoing.

"When the President of Tribunals wrote to the clergy who were the subject of the complaints (including Devamanikkam) asking for their observations on granting permission for the complaints to be outside of the time limit, none of them agreed.

"The President of Tribunals extended the time limits only in relation to the complaints against Devamanikkam and Bishop Williamson."

The report also details how the inquiry heard widespread support for a mandatory reporting law with any failure to comply being enforced through the criminal law.

It adds: "Reverend Matthew Ineson noted that a mandatory reporting law would make it a matter of routine to 'pick the phone up to the police'."

Former Strafford, Mo youth pastor charged with child sex abuse

by: Associated Press

Oct 11, 2020 / 03:51 PM CDT

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A former youth pastor was charged with seven felonies following accusations he sexually abused a child in Missouri.

The Springfield News-Leader reports 46-year-old Jeff Taylor of Strafford, Missouri, was charged Thursday with five counts of statutory sodomy and two counts of statutory rape.

Taylor is accused of sexually abusing a child for several years beginning when the victim was younger than 14.

Court documents say Taylor worked at First Baptist Church in Strafford until a few days ago.

Archbishop of Canterbury says Failure on Child Sexual Abuse is 'Knife in Church's Soul'

But it's more than that!

CREDIT: KIRSTY O'CONNOR /X

Gabriella Swerling, social and religious affairs editor

The Telegraph

The Archbishop of Canterbury has told Church of England leaders that their failure to deal with child sexual abuse is "a knife in our soul".

Speaking at the opening of the General Synod in York on Friday, the Most Rev Justin Welby told an audience of hundreds of synod members that there is much more progress to be made in the wake of the safeguarding scandal.

He said that "every time the Archbishop of York or I see another case where there's a falling short of our response, it is a knife in our soul".

The Archbishop of Canterbury, along with Dr John Sentamu, are due to give evidence at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) later this week.

The Archbishops are the two most senior members of the Church of England. Previous findings from IICSA have already concluded that the Church's response to sexual abuse allegations was "marked by secrecy". This investigation into the Anglican Church is currently assessing the appropriateness of safeguarding and child-protection policies and practices.

It is also considering the adequacy of the Past Cases Review of the Church of England and the Historic Cases Review of the Church in Wales.

In his comments, at Synod on Monday, the Archbishop of Canterbury - who conducted the christening of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's son, Archie - was responding to a request for time to debate safeguarding.

However, he said that it would be more appropriate to wait until the conclusion of IICSA. "We speak from the heart, every time," he said.

"We have to have processes and procedures. There's no magic wand. We have to have rules.

"There's no shortcut. But we do that because we are so grievously ashamed of what has happened in this Church over the years.

"We do that because it comes from the heart and that because we seek to change the culture.

"And every time the Archbishop of York or I see another case where there's a falling short of our response, it is a knife in our soul.

"There are many survivors here in the Synod. Some known, some who've never felt they wanted to or were able to speak. There are many survivors among the bishops. They speak from the heart. And from grief."

IICSA will continue to hear evidence from victims and survivors as well as Church leaders and safeguarding experts later this month.

I love the humility, the shame, the determination to change. They are what seems missing in the Catholic response to its atrocities, not to mention other denominations. But, I would like to point out one thing to Dr. Welby, and that is that every single act of child sex abuse committed by a member of the CoE, was a dagger to the soul of the victim. I think you may still have a lot of bleeding to do.

Nasty Stories from UK (2), Australia & India on Today's Global P&P List

Migrant on bail traffics 13 & 14 y/o girls - UK

Church of England children's home never reported abuse - UK

Man tells daughter who's life he destroyed - 'Get over it!' - Australia

10 y/o forced to become Devadasi (child sex slave, basically) - India

Syrian migrant who trafficked and sexually assaulted two girls, 13 and 14, while on bail for raping a 17-year-old is jailed for 12 years

By Scott Campbell For Mailonline

A sex offender abducted and sexually abused two 13 and 14-year-old girls - while on bail for raping another teen.

Zohair Tomari, 20, who is believed to be from Syria, invited his 17-year-old victim and her 15-year-old friend to his flat in August 2014 after befriending them.

Once there, the twisted attacker plied the older girl with alcohol before slapping and punching both and pulling out a knife.

Tomari, who claimed to be from Morocco in his pre-sentence report but now claims to be from Syria, told the terrified teenager that the more she cried the more he would hit her, before proceeding to rape her.

Police arrived at the scene after the youngest girl was reported missing at which point the other informed them of the incident.

But the rapist was granted bail and went on to traffic two younger girls, aged 13 and 14, as they walked to a friend's home in the early hours of the morning in August last year.

The pair were enticed into a car - in which Tomari was a passenger - and given drink and cigarettes before being led to a flat in Foleshill, Coventry, where he sexually assaulted them.

At Warwick Crown Court, Tomari, of Longford in Coventry, was found guilty of rape in relation to the incident involving the 17-year-old girl and jailed for a total of 12 years and nine months for both incidents on Thursday.

The court heard how Tomari had been jailed at Coventry Crown Court in January this year after being convicted of trafficking for child sexual exploitation and sexual assaults in relation to the other incident.

He will also have to serve an additional seven years on licence, and has been ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

In relation to the first attack, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC, sentencing, told Tomari: 'Behaviour of this nature is abhorred in virtually every civilised country on this earth.

'Sadly, then you were granted bail, and you committed other offences for which you are now in prison.'

'I am driven to conclude you are dangerous. I can see no end to the danger you pose.'

So why is there an end to his prison sentence? Why will he not be deported?

Jeremy Janes, prosecuting, claimed that Tomari had befriended the 17-year-old victim and her 15-year-old friend, and invited them to his flat.

The older girl said that both she and the youngster were punched and slapped by Tomari, and she was threatened with a knife and told she 'better be careful' or she would be going to Hillfields, Coventry, to 'open your legs for anyone'.

During the night, two calls were made to police, one just before 10pm and one just before 3am, but neither was completed.

Speaking about the calls, Mr Janes said: 'The obvious question is 'Why, if there was no problem between them?'

Tomari then went on to traffic the two young girls in August last year.

The pair went to the police about the horror incident after being driven back to the city centre by the sex offender.

Tomari was handed a nine-and-a-half year sentence for child sexual exploitation and sexual assaults in relation to the that incident and, once half that sentence has been served, an extended sentence of eight years for the rape of the 17-year-old will begin. 

Speaking after sentencing, a Home Office spokesman confirmed they would consider deporting Tomar.

He said: 'Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes in the UK should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them and we have removed more than 37,000 foreign offenders since 2010.

'More than 6,100 foreign national offenders were removed from the UK in 2016/17.' 

He added that all foreign nationals given a custodial sentence were considered for removal.

Staff at Kent abuse home were 'never' reported, tape reveals

By Callum May
BBC News

A clergyman who oversaw a children's home where abuse took place in the 1970s and 80s "never once" reported staff to police, he said in a newly-discovered interview.

The Reverend Nicolas Stacey said children could be "manipulative" and make false claims, in the 2006 tape.

Mr Stacey was a director of social services in Kent at a time when girls were drugged and abused at Kendall House in Gravesend.

He died in May 2017 aged 89.

A review published last year found that girls at the home, which was run by the Church of England, were routinely drugged, locked up, and sexually abused.

The recording, first made public in 2012, was discovered in British Library archives by a former Kendall House resident and abuse survivor, Teresa Cooper.

'Sent to bed'

The interview with Mr Stacey, who had been a parish priest in south London before jobs at Oxfam and Kent County Council, was recorded in 2006.

Last year it was included in a series for the British Library's sound archive called "pioneers of charity and social welfare".

In the wide-ranging discussion with a researcher, he said: "Nobody was to go to the police about accusations against staff without my approval".

He said it was "incredible the way times have changed - I could never begin to do that now".

But he added: "Children, especially children in care, are incredibly manipulative."

Mr Stacey said the sanctions were "terribly few" if children misbehaved, describing how residents of Kent's children's homes were "sent to bed without any supper" if they came in late, suspecting them of having shoplifted or having sex in churchyards.

He said children called Childline to say they were being abused if they were sent to bed early.

"The child would creep down and telephone Childline saying 'I'm being abused'," he said.

Mr Stacey went on to say that he never reported staff to the police, "because I never felt that we had a serious case" - although he did ask some to resign.

"I would try and get them to go to counselling," he said.

"[It's] terribly sad if you're sexually orientated towards children, you know."

Is paedophilia a sexual orientation!

He said that if "rampant abuse" had emerged, "of course" he would have gone to the police.

The Kendall House inquiry found that drugs were administered in doses exceeding usual prescribed adult levels to control girls' behaviour, placing them in a constant stupor.

The review found: "The effects of the drugs also increased their vulnerability to emotional, physical and in a smaller number of cases, sexual abuse".

'He failed you'

Ms Cooper, who lived at Kendall House in the early 80s, has called for a further investigation to be carried out into Mr Stacey. "The ramifications of Stacey's confessional interview are huge," she said.

"This will have an impact on survivors who may have reported abuse to the Kent authorities and police at the time."

Ms Cooper added: "There might potentially be hundreds of allegations and victims facing the serious consequences of injustice based on the unfounded judgement of those meant to protect children."

A spokesperson for the dioceses of Rochester and Canterbury said Mr Stacey's comments raised "serious concerns", given his former position of responsibility for children's homes across Kent.

"We would, of course, be willing to cooperate fully with any investigation into this matter," the spokesperson said.

In a tweet sent to Ms Cooper, the chair of the Kendall House review, Sue Proctor, described the recording as "appalling", adding: "He failed you and countless others".

Dr Proctor could not be reached by BBC News for further comment. Kent County Council has declined to comment.

"Get over it and move on": abuser taunts victim after years of child sexual abuse

Ava Benny-Morrison 

A known sex offender was free to inflict years of horrific abuse on his step daughter and document the crimes in homemade pornography after he avoided jail time for other child sex offences.  

The 44-year-old, who can't be identified for legal reasons, was last week sentenced to 18 years behind bars for subjecting his teenage step daughter to sustained sexual abuse that derailed her adult life. 

The abuse took place in 2003 and 2004 in a small town in country NSW.

Two years prior, the man was charged for committing an act of indecency on another child, an offence that attracts a maximum penalty of two years jail, and possessing child pornography. 

However, for those offences he was sentenced to carry out community service. 

The man then went on to sexually assault his step daughter for years. A shocking Facebook exchange between the man and his victim offered a disturbing insight into the way he treated her. 

The victim wrote an open post to her family in 2011 detailing how she was dealing with baggage from the past that had unexpectedly resurfaced. 

Her abuser replied: "your (sic) a grown up now, get over it and move on."

Five years later Sex Crimes Squad detectives raided the man's home and uncovered multiple hard drives with thousands of child porn videos and images. 

Many were of his teenage step daughter, who he once forced to dress up in lingerie before she posed in his photographs. 

The victim's mother at times encouraged her partner to take photos of the teen. The mother was jailed for two years in May after being charged with allowing a child to be used for pornographic purposes.

According to a statement of facts tendered in Penrith District Court, the Australian Federal Police tipped off their NSW counterparts about the step dad after noticing some videos had been shared online. 

Detectives searched his home in April, 2016 and found a DVD disc labelled with his step daughter's name and 701 images of her engaged in various sexual activities. 

Videos found on other hard drives "depicted both pre-pubescent male and female children" engaged in sex acts. 

Police estimated the man kept up to 10,000 child abuse material files, including images of "sadism or bestiality". 

He created his own child pornography by forcing his step daughter, whom he started abusing after beginning a relationship with her mother, to pose in more than 300 photos. 

On one occasion in 2003 the man walked into the teen's bedroom, told her "you know what I want" before forcing her to give him oral sex.

On the victim's birthday in 2004, the man took 98 photographs of her engaged in sexual acts. 

The impact of the sustained abuse and torment was devastating for the woman, who recalled being treated like a slave. 

In a victim impact statement, the woman said rather than thinking of the man as her dad, she had to think of him as "just a guy who sexually abused me everyday".

"My vision of a normal life at the time would have been that (he) he have been a father figure to me, someone I could learn to trust over time," she wrote.

"The reality of my life was far from normal.

"I thought about running away so many times but I was so scared of going back after trying to escape because that would have made my situation so much worse."

The man was sentenced for 29 offences last Wednesday to a non parole period of 13 and a half years in jail.

Karnataka parents, temple priest arrested for forcing 10-year-old to become a Devadasi

The minor girl was forced to become a Devadasi five years ago

and was rescued recently.

TNM Staff

The parents of a 10-year-old girl child from Kalaburagi in Karnataka has been arrested for forcing their daughter to become a Devadasi. Apart from the parents of the girl, a 70-year-old temple priest has also been arrested in the case. 

The girl child was forced to become a Devadasi five years ago, when her parents, distressed at her chronic illness, approached the temple priest Sharanappa for remedy. 

Kalaburagi District Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Child Helpline and officials of the Department of Women and Child Development, had earlier in June, rescued the girl, after they received information that she was to be sent off with a man. 

Sharanappa, who had claimed that he had facilitated many girls to become Devadasis over the past few decades, tied a mangalsutra around the girl's neck. 

As per the Devadasi system, which stands eradicated in Karnataka, a girl, generally from the Dalit community, is ceremoniously married to the deity. The girl is later sent with a man who promises to take care of her, but glaring cases of sexual abuse have been exposed in the past. 

On Saturday, Minister for Women and Child Welfare Umashree reportedly received a report regarding the incident from the District Child Protection Committee officer.  

According to the directions from Deputy Commissioner Ujwal Kumar Ghosh, two teachers from the school in which the girl used to study, have also been named in the FIR. This, after the teachers failed to alert the officials, despite the girl failing to attend school since the past four years. 

The Deputy Commissioner is also said to have sought a report from Devadasi Nirmoolana Samiti regarding the prevalence of the practice in various parts of the state. 

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Resigns over Church ‘Collusion’ in Sex Abuse

The Church of England continues to do the right thing under

Justin Welby's leadership.

Pity they didn't start when Carey was ABC

Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey © Wikipedia

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has resigned from his last remaining formal role in the church after a report found he “colluded” with a disgraced pedophile bishop to prevent him from facing criminal charges.

Justin Welby, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, last week asked Lord Carey to “carefully consider his position.” On Monday, Lord Carey resigned from his current role as an honorary Assistant Bishop in the diocese of Oxford.

A damning report by formal social worker Dame Moira Gibb, the result of an 18-month inquiry, found the Church of England failed to protect the victims of Peter Ball, who was jailed in 2015 for abusing 18 vulnerable men and boys over a 20-year period.

The Bishop of Oxford released a statement on Monday saying: “Lord Carey has accepted the criticisms made of him in the Gibb review and has apologized to the victims of Peter Ball."

“Along with many others, I have been deeply distressed to read Dame Moira Gibb’s report with its narrative of the abuse perpetrated by Peter Ball which remained hidden for so long.

“I hope that the focus of attention will continue to be on the survivors of abuse and offering to them the care and support they need.”

Ball, the former Bishop of Lewes, was jailed for 32 months in October 2015 after admitting to sexually abusing 18 people aged 17-25 while in service.

Ball, described as a “sadistic sexual predator” by his victims, admitted to abusing a 12-year-old. He was released in February after his sentence was shortened to 16 months.

‘An Abuse of Faith,’ a report examining the CoE’s response when the first allegations were made in 1992, found that senior clergy had “trivialized” Ball’s actions in a bid to save the Church’s reputation.

The report accused then-Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey of failing to inform police of several letters by members of the public who had witnessed or experienced Ball’s abuse.

These included letters from parents who said their children had been sexually propositioned by Ball, and a man who said he had been asked to masturbate in front of him at the age of 15.

The report accuses Carey of “setting the tone for the Church’s response to Ball’s crimes and gave the steer which allowed Ball’s assertions that he was innocent to gain credence.”

Ball had initially been investigated by police in 1993 after Neil Todd, a young man who had stayed with him, told Church figures there had been “sexual activity” between the two. Todd killed himself in 2012. 

That investigation ended when Ball accepted a caution for gross indecency and resigned as Bishop of Gloucester.

Lord Carey said in a statement last Thursday: “I accept the criticisms made of me. I apologise to the victims of Peter Ball."

“I believed Peter Ball’s protestations and gave too little credence to the vulnerable young men and boys behind those allegations. I regret that after Peter Ball was cautioned I did not place his name on the Lambeth list.”

Has the Church of England Learned Nothing from the Child Sex Abuse Scandals?

Church still in 'Circle the Wagons' mode 
when it comes to child sex abuse
Top bishop’s diocese is under fire over a child sex abuse 'cover-up' after a trainee vicar raped two Christian girls 

Timothy Storey was jailed for 15 years for grooming girls on Facebook
'Arrogant' Reverend Hugh Valentine refused to give evidence in court 
Reverend Jeremy Crossley is also now facing disciplinary action
Richard Chartres, head of the London Diocese was urged to punished them but did not

By Simon Walters Political Editor For The Mail On Sunday

The London diocese, headed by the Bishop of London Richard Chartres (pictured) – the third most senior Church of England cleric – faced a call by the bishop’s own independent inquiry to consider punishing two priests criticised after a trainee vicar raped two Christian girls

One of Britain’s best-known bishops faced controversy last night after it emerged his diocese refused to punish two leading priests in a new church child sex abuse row.

The London diocese, headed by the Bishop of London Richard Chartres – the third most senior Church of England cleric – faced a call by the bishop’s own independent inquiry to consider punishing two priests criticised after a trainee vicar raped two Christian girls.

But the diocese did not take any action, saying it could cause further upset to the victims.

Oxford-educated Timothy Storey was jailed for 15 years last April after a court heard how he groomed hundreds of children on Facebook, using his position as children’s pastor to prey on ‘weak, insecure girls’.

Judge Philip Katz lambasted the ‘utterly incompetent failure’ of ‘arrogant’ church leaders to protect young girls – and accused them of a cover-up. Bishop Chartres apologised and set up an independent inquiry into the scandal. 

The Mail on Sunday has established that it was concluded five months ago.

Oxford-educated Timothy Storey was jailed for 15 years last April after a court heard how he groomed hundreds of children on Facebook

Its full contents were kept secret, but this newspaper can reveal the inquiry said both clerics should face disciplinary action – even though both had already been removed from their children’s supervisory roles. 

We can also disclose that the two clerics – identified in the report only as ‘clergy person A and B’ – are the Reverend Hugh Valentine and the Reverend Jeremy Crossley. 

Valentine was Bishop Chartres’s adviser on child protection during Storey’s reign of terror. The Storey trial judge criticised his ‘arrogance’ in refusing to give evidence.

Valentine has carried on as curate at St James’s Church, Westminster. In his sermon last Sunday, entitled Sexuality And Bishops, he accused the Church of treating gays and lesbians like ‘embarrassing relations’ and said religion had helped breed ‘hatred’, including ‘homophobia, misogyny and racism’.

Valentine also works for a young person’s charity, the Walcot Foundation. Crossley was Bishop Chartres’s director of ordinands, and is Rector at St Margaret Lothbury Church in the City of London.

During Storey’s trial, Judge Katz said the diocese was ‘stone deaf’ to complaints from the victims of self-confessed sex addict Storey, and ‘shamefully’ tried to shift the blame to police. Some of its leaders ‘seemed to be worried about the reputational damage to the diocese’.

Police praised the media for finally bringing Storey to justice.

We can also disclose that the two clerics –identified in the report only as ‘clergy person A and B’ – are the Reverend Hugh Valentine (left) and the Reverend Jeremy Crossley (right)

The review ordered by Bishop Chartres said the Church should ‘consider an investigation under the Clergy Disciplinary Measure’ (CDM) into Valentine and Crossley. It said the Church must face ‘the consequences’ of its blunders.

A spokesman for the diocese said: ‘Legal analysis concluded there were not sufficient grounds to pursue complaints under the CDM and any failed process would cause further pain to survivors.’

The survivors are in pain and will continue to be in pain for some time. Allowing Valentine and Crossley to continue as though nothing happened will do nothing but add to that pain. It appears the church does not understand this because the church is still putting the church above the children. It seems they do not know that the church is the people and covering up or ignoring the suffering of the people is hurting the church. Has the Church of England learned nothing in the child sex abuse scandals rocking Britain and Australia?

The decision followed an assessment by the diocesan safeguarding team, not the bishop.

Church of England Told Bishops not to Apologize to Sex Abuse Victims

© Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters

The Church of England explicitly warned bishops not to apologize fully, if at all, to sex abuse victims to avoid being sued, it has been revealed.

Legal advice seen by the Telegraph marked “strictly confidential,” circulated among the most senior bishops, told them to “express regret” to sexual abuse victims by only using approved wording.

“Because of the possibility that statements of regret might have the unintended effect of accepting legal liability for the abuse, it is important that they are approved in advance by lawyers, as well as diocesan communications officers (and, if relevant, insurers),” the report says.

The guidance, written in 2007 and only replaced last year, says bishops should not meet victims face to face and only ever do so after legal advice.

“This may be the right course in some circumstances but great care will be needed to ensure that nothing is said which inadvertently concedes legal liability,” the report says.

Survivors told the newspaper the newly revealed document showed there was a culture of “denial, dishonesty and blanking” victims in ways which heightened their pain.

It follows a damning independent review of the Church’s handling of sadistic abuse by Garth Moore, a priest and top canon lawyer, in the 1970s.

It highlighted how a teenager, known as “Joe,” revealed his ordeal to a string of leading clerics who later claimed not to remember anything of their conversations.

Amazing! You would think that 'leading clerics' would know that there are no liars in Christendom.

The report singled out the way in which the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Paul Butler, the Church’s then head of safeguarding, cut all contact with Joe following advice from insurers.

The review condemned this as “reckless.”

Joe said the newly released legal document “made total sense” in light of his own experience.

“This finally exposes the culture that has been followed,” he said.

“The approach to survivors is often a corporate model and this document supports that – it shows a church led by lawyers and insurers, you get the impression that these people are really their masters.

“A diocese is deferential to their bishop and the bishop is deferential to a bunch of lawyers.

“The Church will say ‘our hands are tied’ but they are paying the people who are tying their hands.

“They should say we need to stop this nonsense but they wash their hands like Pontius Pilate.

“Every part of this nexus [the bishops, the lawyers and insurance owners] washes its hands of every other part of it but the nexus is joined at the hip.”

Child abuse lawyer David Greenwood, who represented Joe, said: “With church organizations you expect a higher standard than just a legalistic approach.

“This is a naive document, it is legalistic and doesn’t take into account the needs of survivors of child sexual abuse.

“I think this is more naivety than nastiness – but the effect definitely can be nasty.”

I think you've totally nailed it Joe, although rather than naivety or nastiness, I think we are talking utter selfishness and a complete lack of compassion. Neither are characteristics of Christ. It's deplorable that they walk around with their titles of 'Reverend' or 'Right Reverend' when they display character and attitudes that are the very opposite of Christian.

A Church of England spokesperson said: “The Church of England published new guidance in 2015 emphasizing that the pastoral response to alleged victims and survivors is of top priority, and needs to be separated as far as possible from the management processes for the situation, and from legal and insurance responses.

“That superseded all previous advice and ensures that the pastoral needs of survivors must never be neglected and pastoral contact can continue whatever legal issues exist.”

And it only took them 8 years to figure out that what they were doing was definitively anti-Christian.

Church of England ‘Buries’ Shocking Child Sex Abuse Report

Like an unwanted government program announced late Friday afternoon to avoid media attention, the Church of England slid this report out to the media on the day a new Prime Minister was commissioned. It is an unfortunate indication of where the church is in taking responsibility for its former irresponsibility, and that the church's attitude still appears to be one of concern for the church rather than concern for the victims of abuse in a church-run orphanage, abuse that seems to have been continued by the inquiry itself.


© / Wikipedia

The Church of England published a damning report on the horrific abuse of youngsters at a former children’s home on the same day Theresa May became Prime Minister, prompting critics to accuse the church of trying to “bury bad news.”

Published on Wednesday, the review presented “harrowing” evidence of physical and sexual abuse at Kendall House in Gravesend, Kent, over a 20-year period. It found vulnerable girls were regularly over-medicated on antipsychotic drugs, locked in isolation rooms, physically abused and even raped, during the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

Girls who lived in Kendall House across the decades have described challenging conditions - with the home resembling a prison, with barbed wire and iron bars.

One survivor (just barely) She told the inquiry: "That was my youth, that's when I should have been into the Beatles or into a bit of fashion. It did change me.

"I did take two overdoses and one of them was so serious I was taken to hospital and had my stomach pumped. I was near enough dead.

"I'd left Kendall House but those suicidal thoughts stayed with me and the first chance I got I took the overdose and I remember the tubes going down and having my stomach pumped." 

Another who was in the home in the late 1970s also recalled the impact of the regime: "It was a very, very hard road and there were consequences of it, because of what happened.

"I did end up in prison in the end because there was no proper back-up support. Nobody helped me. All they did was drug me up.

"Nobody actually tried to challenge the problems. It's made me a not very confident person. I suffer with terrible bad nerves all the time. I don't cope in crowds very easily.

"I still feel cheated. I was cheated out of my childhood because I don't think that was the right place for me. I don't think it was right for any of the girls that were there." 

Years later, in the mid 1980s, the regime had not improved for one resident: "It was hell. It was just like being in prison. I'd gone to prison for a crime that I hadn't committed to be abused all over again for no particular reason, just because they could. 

"It was hell. It was just like being in prison"

- one resident from the 1980s

Another resident from the same time said: "What happened to me in Kendall House and everywhere else lives with me ever single day.

"As a result, I have ended up with illnesses and mental health issues and everything else." 

One resident described the conditions as "a prison-like atmosphere", but she added: "I think even in prisons they probably have a bit more say."


Another said: "There was no explanation. There was no attempt to befriend you or to be supportive."

There were also restrictions on personal possessions, even photos.

Serious criticism of the inquiry

Campaigner Teresa Cooper, 48, lived in the Pelham Road home from 1981 until 1984.

She did not give evidence to the inquiry, but fought for the investigation for three decades.

The mum-of-three, who says she was forcibly tranquillised and sexually abused at the home in Pelham Road, claims the panel “made it impossible” for her to be involved as giving evidence would have required frequent travel into London.

“I’ve lost everything because of this, my children, my grandchildren,” she said.

They (the inquiry) didn’t want me to be part of this

Teresa Cooper

“I’m the only one who was fighting this, and pushing for this review for the past 30 years, but I feel like I’m being made invisible now.

“They made it impossible for me to be involved because I would have needed so much time off work, and they didn’t even offer to cover my transport costs. Now I’ve found that all the other women involved are being compensated. They didn’t want me to be part of this.

“Staff were doing what they wanted and drugging the girls themselves.


“It’s not just about what happened at Kendall House, it’s everything since then, the cover-ups and brushing it under the carpet, all those injustices to date. There needs to be a full police investigation.

Ms Cooper has also disputed several of the review’s terms of reference, including the absence of any mention of birth defects and medical problems suffered by the children and grandchildren of former residents.

One of the terms of reference states that the home’s drug regime was brought to an end when Dr Perinpanyagam retired in 1983, but Ms Cooper claims it continued until 1986.

Also stated is that complaints and civil claims against the Church of England started in 2006, much later than Ms Cooper says she began her fight for justice.

Ms Cooper won substantial out-of-court damages from the church in 2010 over her claims, but has accused it of failing in its duty to her and other alleged abuse victims.

She is currently pursuing another legal claim against the church in a bid to secure damages for up to 25 children who it is claimed suffered as a result of drug use at Kendall House.


Ms Cooper’s daughter Sarah, 23, was born with a cleft palate. Her two sons and grandchild also have serious health issues.

The Church of England issued a “wholehearted apology” following the investigation, which found the response of the dioceses of Rochester and Canterbury “woeful and inadequate.”

One wonder what is the standard here for 'woeful and inadequate? Is it woeful and inadequate treatment of the children, or of the church?

Critics argue the Church should have delayed the publication of such a serious report until after former home secretary Theresa May was officially made PM.

“Only the naive will believe this not an attempt to bury bad news, especially as the Church has form on this,” said Keith Porteous Wood of the National Secular Society. “Church’s concern remains protecting its reputation and pocket, rather than the many victims whose lives have been ruined.”

The damning report on Kendall House, which was run by the authoritarian superintendent Doris Law, concluded it was “toxic and destructive to the girls placed there.”

Medicine was distributed by consultant psychiatrist Dr Marenthiran Perinpanayagam, known as Dr Peri, whose drug regime had an “experimental element,” according to the report. Both Law and Perinpanayagam are now dead.

The review described Kendall House as “a place where control, containment and sometimes cruelty was normalized.”

“Girls as young as 11 were routinely and often without any initial medical assessment, given antidepressants, sedatives and antipsychotic medication,” the report said. “Often these drugs were given in dosages which exceeded usual prescribed adult levels. This served to control their behaviour, placing them in a constant stupor, restricting their ability to communicate or to learn, or have any personal autonomy.”

“These drugs put them at risk of numerous side effects, many of which were distressing. The effects of the drugs also increased their vulnerability to emotional, physical and, in a smaller number of cases, sexual abuse.

“Those that resisted, challenged or overcame the effects of these routinely administered drugs faced sanctions. These included being locked in a room for long periods, and receiving emotionally abusive threats and actions.

“In a number of cases, even the slightest misdemeanours, the typical features of teenagers’ behaviour, were ‘dealt’ with by physical restraint, sometimes violent, and intramuscular injections of powerfully sedating medication.”

So the question is, was there any oversight of this facility? If not, why not? If there was, who was responsible for it and why did he do such an inadequate job? I wonder if the report addresses these questions?

Sadistic Sexual Assaults Ignored by Church of England – Report

© Joe Giddens / Reuters

Senior figures in the Church of England failed to act after hearing about a sadistic assault, prompting the church to make sweeping reforms in the way sex abuse cases are dealt with.

An independent review, commissioned by the church, found “deeply disturbing” failures by those in positions of power who failed to act after hearing reports of sexual assault. 

Over a period of four decades, senior members of the clergy ignored a survivor’s repeated disclosures of a sexual assault, the report alleges. It also criticizes the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for failing to acknowledge the case.

The church said the report is “embarrassing and uncomfortable.” No - it's horrifying! I'm not convinced that you get it, yet.

Among the report’s conclusions is the need for training for those who receive disclosures of abuse so they can be properly recorded and appropriate action taken.

How about the need for empathy and compassion which seem to be missing from senior positions in the Church of England.

It also says the church must ensure safety and pastoral concerns are placed above financial or reputational concerns, and “every effort should be made to avoid adversarial approach” when dealing with survivors of abuse.

In response to the findings, the church will now oblige members of the clergy to record instances of abuse when they hear about them, and take action, as well as making sure cases of abuse are treated with greater priority.

The report comes as the government’s inquiry into historic sex abuse prepares to examine information relating to abuse cases of children or vulnerable adults within the Church of England.
Welby has admitted that abuse by senior church figures and within other institutions has been “rampant.”

He has also made “a personal commitment to seeing all the recommendations implemented quickly,” said Bishop of Crediton Sarah Mullally, who made a statement on behalf of the church.

“He thinks the situation is embarrassing and uncomfortable for the church.”

She added that she is creating an action plan to implement the proposals from the report, with a view to cover education, training, communication and structural change.