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Priests arrested in Eastbourne in child abuse inquiry
Two retired Church of England priests have been arrested in the Eastbourne area on suspicion of sexually abusing children and young men.
Canon Gordon Rideout, 73, is suspected of sexually assaulting nine young people between 1965 and 1972.
Former parish priest Robert Coles, 70, is suspected of sexually assaulting three young men in West Sussex in the late 1970s and mid-1980s.
Detectives in East Sussex say they are not linking the cases at this stage.
Arrested at home
They emphasised there was nothing to suggest that any children were currently at risk.
Sussex Police said the arrests, made at the homes of the two men, are the result of a complex and ongoing reinvestigation.
Canon Rideout, a former rural dean, is suspected of abusing children in Crawley, West Sussex; Barkingside in north east London and Middle Wallop in Hampshire.
The arrests follow an investigation over the past six months by a team of specialist child protection detectives from Sussex Police.
It follows receipt last year by the Diocese of Chichester and Sussex Police of a confidential review by Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, into historic allegations of sexual abuse by Church of England priests against young people in Sussex and elsewhere.
The force said several allegations against Canon Rideout were made to police in 1972 but no criminal proceedings resulted.
Another related allegation was made to police in 2001 and an arrest was made then but there was not sufficient evidence to justify criminal proceedings.
One of the allegations against against Robert Coles was investigated in 1997, and an arrest was made, but there was insufficient evidence to justify criminal proceedings at that time.
The other allegations have only recently emerged as a result of the current inquiry.
Det Chief Insp Carwyn Hughes said: “Although they have been arrested on the same day the cases against the two men are being treated as separate inquiries at this stage.
“The offences were allegedly committed at different times and in different places from each other.
“There are no allegations of recent or current offending and police emphasise that there is nothing to suggest that any children are currently at risk.”
Read More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sus…TWEET94518
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