The Sun
August 16, 2007
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007380068,00.html
A Paedophile vicar was sacked by the Church of England today - more than three months after he was jailed for sexually abusing boys over a 30-year period.
The Rev David Smith, 52, from Clevedon, Somerset, will never be allowed to work as a priest again, following a Church disciplinary hearing.
Smith, who had been suspended for a year before his trial, was still being paid his £20,000-a-year salary by the Church even after he was convicted.
He was also still technically the vicar at St John's in the seaside town, where he groomed and molested two vulnerable youngsters.
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| Sacked ... the ex-Rev David Smith |
He was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail in May after being convicted of a string of sexual assaults on boys between 1976 and 2005.
Officials at the Church of England had been heavily criticised for failing to act quicker to remove him from office.
But they blamed red tape and internal procedures for delaying the decision.
The Bishop of Bath and Wells, Rt Rev Peter Price, today imposed the maximum penalty possible under the Clergy Discipline Measure as Smith was finally dismissed.
Mr Price said: "The legal processes we had to go through take a frustratingly long time but they have now been completed.
"We can now look to the future with hope and confidence."
Smith was convicted on May 3 and then had 28 days to lodge an appeal. Until that time, the church was powerless to take any steps to remove him from office.
After that time limit passed, he was told the Church intended to replace him after a clergy discipline measure into his conduct.
But Smith, who always denied he had done anything wrong, still had a further 28 days to appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury against the decision.
His final chance has now expired and he is not thought to have challenged the Church's action.
It is not clear if Smith has been claiming the cash and what he has done with it.
During his trial at Bristol Crown Court, it emerged concerns had been raised with the Church of England on two occasions about the vicar, firstly in 1983 and again in 2001.
Despite the Church reassuring two complainants that the matter had been "dealt with", Smith continued to abuse boys at the vicarage in Clevedon.
The Bishop later apologised to the victims after the jury returned unanimously guilty verdicts on all 12 charges.
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