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Former bishop admits to sexually abusing 18 young men
Peter Ball used his position in the clergy to invite aspiring vicars to his home
A former bishop and friend of the Prince of Wales has admitted sexually abusing 18 young men amid claims that the upper echelons of the Church colluded and conspired with the criminal justice system for decades to cover up his crimes.
Peter Ball, who served as Bishop of Lewes and later Gloucester, used his position as a senior cleric by inviting aspiring vicars to his home and abusing them over a period of at least 15 years from 1977.
Ball, 83, denied the two most serious charges of abusing boys aged 13 and 15, and he was spared a trial after a behind-closed-doors deal struck between prosecutors and defence lawyers.
One of the alleged victims, Phil Johnson, who came forward to police in 1996 to claim that he was abused as a 13-year-old, complained that nearly two decades later he still would not have the opportunity to tell his story in court.
“It should be for a jury to decide whether Peter Ball offended against little boys who were under 16, not him and his lawyers doing deals in yet another attempt to belittle his behaviour and reduce his punishment,” he said in a statement. “This does not feel like justice.”
Ball accepted a caution in 1993 in relation to the abuse of one young man, Neil Todd, and resigned his post as Bishop of Gloucester.
Philosophers stone – selected views from the boat http://philosophers-stone.co.uk
Source: http://www.philosophers-stone.co.uk/?p=2877
