BishopAccountability.org
	Priest's Child Abuse 'Ignored by Church' By Tony Kearney Northern Echo May 14, 2008 http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.2269813.0.priests_child_abuse_ignored_by_church.php CHILD abuse by a perverted priest was ignored by church authorities for decades, even though several of his victims spoke out. Retired priest Father John Corrigan was jailed for four years yesterday for the abuse of three altar boys and a girl in the sacristy and vestry of his Gateshead church dating back 40 years. The 72-year-old, who also worked in parishes in Seaham and Newcastle, admitted nine charges of indecent assault between 1967 and 1972 and must register as a sex offender for life. Judge David Hodson told Corrigan: "By virtue of your priesthood, you were in an especially privileged position. "You were regarded by your parishioners as a person with whom the safety and innocence of the children in your charge would be safe. "Over a period of about five years, you breached that trust in the grossest way." Newcastle Crown Court was told how his teenage female victim reported the abuse at the time, but the authorities refused to listen. Penny Moreland, prosecuting, told the court: "It was she who got the dressing down from the parish priestand it was she who was told she was a bad girl who had shamed her family by saying wicked things about the defendant." The woman, now in her 50s, was in court yesterday to see Corrigan, who sat with his head in his hand throughout the hearing, brought to justice. The court was told that one of the male victims, who was abused when he was about eight years old, went to the authorities in the Eighties, but he was also ignored. An investigation was launched in 2002 after the third victim finally reported Corrigan's crimes and he was extradited from his native Ireland, where he had retired. Tony Hawks, mitigating, said it took "moral courage" for Corrigan to admit his guilt. Judge Hodson told Corrigan: "You believed your position was unassailable. You thought no one would complain and their word would not be believed." Speaking after the hearing Father Dennis Tindall, from the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, said: "We do not have a good history on this subject. We need to acknowledge things weren't always done correctly in the past."
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.