February 11, 2005

Former chaplain jailed for child sex abuse

BRITAIN
One in Four

by Tom Felle of The Irish Independent

A 42-YEAR-OLD former British army chaplain has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail for sexually abusing a teenage boy.

Glen Milne, originally from Berkshire and formerly of Castlepollard, Co Westmeath, had pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual assault on the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in 2002. He also pleaded guilty to committing an act of gross indecency on the teenager in November 2003.

Trim Circuit Court heard that Milne, who had lived in Ireland for 10 years, had gone to the home of the boy he abused pretending to be a school chaplain. The boy had been attending boarding school, where Milne had taught some religion, and while he started off well, he had been having some problems. Milne was left alone with the boy and performed a series of sexual acts. This happened on a number occasions. The young boy was aged 13 and 14 at the time. Following the events, the cleric went to England where he confessed what he had done to a bishop.

Posted by kshaw at February 11, 2005 08:19 AM