BishopAccountability.org
	Priest Tells Court of Sex Shame Cleric Says Girl Found Dead in Church 'Admired' Him By Auslan Cramb Irish Independent [Scotland] April 4, 2007 http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=27&si=1805811&issue_id=15454 A Catholic priest told a hushed courtroom yesterday that he was ashamed and disgusted with himself after he had sex with a young Polish student who was found dead in his church. Fr Gerard Nugent (63) also admitted that he was an alcoholic. He said that Angelika Kluk (23) admired his church services and they often talked and had "intellectual discussions". The court heard earlier that he first met her in 2005, and that he gave her free accommodation in a room at the chapel house of St Patrick's Church in Glasgow. Fr Nugent was giving evidence in the High Court in Edinburgh at the trial of Peter Tobin (60), the church handyman, who denies raping and killing Ms Kluk and hiding her body under the floor of the church last September. Asked by Dorothy Bain, prosecuting, if he had a sexual relationship with the student, he replied in a whisper: "Yes." He said the "sexual intimacy" between them happened about three or four times in August or September 2005. He added: "I felt guilty and I felt ashamed and disgusted with myself. I knew I was wrong and I wanted to make it right." Love He said that he was not in love with Ms Kluk, but agreed that because she was living under his roof he had betrayed a position of trust. Fr Nugent was told that Ms Kluk's sister Aneta (28) and the student's married lover, Martin Macaskill (40), both thought that his claim of a sexual relationship was untrue. He replied: "Sadly, it is true." The priest added: "I take full responsibility." He said he resigned as a parish priest two weeks ago, after being asked to do so by the archdiocese of Glasgow. Fr Nugent also told the court that around 10 years ago he learned through Alcoholics Anonymous that he was suffering from the "illness" of alcoholism. However, he said he was not drinking at the time of his affair with Ms Kluk. Asked to recall events last September, when Ms Kluk is alleged to have been murdered, he said that he saw her in the garage of the chapel house with Tobin on the 24th. Tobin, who was known to the priest as Pat McLaughlin, was building a shed and Ms Kluk was helping him to paint it. He added: "About 2.30pm that afternoon I popped into the garage and saw Pat and Angela there. At this time Pat said to me that he was getting great help from his apprentice." The murder charge alleges that Tobin attacked Ms Kluk between September 24 and September 29 in St Patrick's Church, or elsewhere, gagging her with cloth and tape, tying her hands, raping her, battering her with a piece of wood or something similar, and repeatedly stabbing her with a knife. In a "special defence" read to the jury, Tobin admits having sex with the Polish student with her consent. Tobin denies all the charges against him. The trial continues.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.