BishopAccountability.org
	Vicar Denies 14 Child Sex Abuse Charges By Steven Morris The Guardian [United Kingdom] April 24, 2007 http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2064199,00.html A parish priest sexually abused boys over a period of nearly 30 years despite two separate claims by the church that it had "dealt with the matter", Bristol crown court heard yesterday. The Rev David Smith, 52, groomed the youngsters during sleepovers at the vicarage and day trips to the seaside, the jury was told. He told them he loved them and later bombarded some of them with letters and phone calls when they attempted to break off contact, the court heard. Concerns had been raised with the Church of England on two occasions about the vicar, in 1981 and again in 2001. Despite two complainants being reassured that the matter had been dealt with, Mr Smith was not stopped. Mr Smith, vicar of St John the Evangelist in Clevedon, Somerset, denies 14 charges allegedly committed against seven boys under 16. He denied 10 charges of indecent assault, two of indecency with a child, one sexual assault on a child under 13, and one of sexual activity with a child. Brendon Moorhouse, prosecuting, told the jury that Mr Smith's abuse began when he was appointed assistant housemaster at a boarding school in Berkshire. During his year at the school in the mid-1970s, he abused three boys. After leaving the school, he abused another boy in 1981 while a curate in Gloucestershire, the court heard. He was entrusted to look after the boy when his parents went on holiday, but used the opportunity to indecently assault him, it was claimed. The victim's mother alerted the police and Mr Smith was moved to another parish. In 1993 he arrived in Clevedon, where he allegedly abused three boys. Years later one of the alleged victims from the school saw Mr Smith on television. Shocked to see his former teacher was now a vicar, he wrote to the church and was reassured the problem had "effectively been dealt with". But he abused another boy before the police were called in after a victim confided in a parishioner, the court was told. The trial continues.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.