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	Romeo Priest Roddy Macneil Kicked off University Course for Pestering Students By Janice Burns Daily Record February 21, 2009 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/02/21/ romeo-priest-roddy-macneil-kicked-off-university-course-for-pestering-students-86908-21140407/ A SEX shame priest has been kicked off a university course after pestering female students. "Father Flash" Roddy MacNeil, who fathered a child with his married first cousin and bedded another lover half his age, was training for a new career as a counsellor. But at least six of his fellowstudents complained about his "inappropriate behaviour", including making "advances" to young women on his course. And after an inquiry, Strathclyde University sent him packing. One of the women claimed MacNeil, 49, tried to get her to join him in a jacuzzi. And a university insider said four students quit the course because the priest had left them "traumatised". The source told the Record last night: "MacNeil was very flirty with the younger women, who complained about him making advances and remarks when they were alone in the class. "One said he invited her to have a jacuzzi with him and others were unnerved by him following them into the car park and offering them rides home. "The counselling course attracts a lot of women who have had bad experiences, like physical and sexual abuse, and the students bare their souls and tell their innermost secrets in group sessions. "MacNeil used that information to manipulate and intimidate some of the most vulnerable students. He even offered one woman marriage guidance. "The four women who dropped out had suffered bad experiences in the past. They shared them with MacNeil and he used them to manipulate them. "They said they felt he had abused them all over again." The women's complaints, along with dissatisfaction with MacNeil's course work and the fact that he kept his past secret, saw the priest refused his diploma. But the Record's source is still horrified by the thought that he could have qualified as a counsellor and ended up alone in sessions with female clients. "There should be laws against people like him practising," the insider said. "The thought of him doing one-to-one sessions with anyone makes my skin crawl. "The most appalling thing about this whole situation is that there is nothing to stop him getting his qualifications at another college or university. The job is not regulated." MacNeil, a close friend of Princess Diana's late mother Frances Shand Kydd, got his Father Flash nickname because of his love of fast cars and fancy clothes. He told his fellow students at Strathclyde that he had been a parish priest. But he didn't say anything about getting his cousin pregnant. His sordid past was only exposed when a student recognised his photo in the Record, where he was unmasked as a "sexual predator" in a string of exclusive stories. "No one at Strathclyde knew about his background," said our source. "They only knew he'd been a priest. "He seemed very charming at first. He sucked everyone in, and he managed to keep his secret until he course was almost finished. "We were disgusted when we found out what he had done and how he was lying about his past." MacNeil was almost at the end of his one-year course when the six women, all in their 20s or 30s, made their complaints. Bosses at Strathclyde talked to students and lecturers and began an investigation. As well as the accusations from the women, the university authorities were concerned thatMacNeil had covered up his background and "faked" one of his course assignments. An insider said: "Part of the course involves going out and counselling real clients and MacNeil had to produce a tape of a genuine counselling session. But it was found that he had asked the client to read out a script he had written." The bosses also askedMacNeil why he hadn't explained his past. But our source said: "He was more than economical with the truth. "He said he left the priesthood after suffering a mini-breakdown and had had 'a brief relationship with a woman which resulted in a child being born'. "He did not mention that it was his cousin, that she was married, or that he had been accused of having sex with her for years. He also did not mention the other young girl he slept with. "MacNeil said the incident with his cousin was an isolated one and played it for sympathy. Then he calmly thanked everyone for listening." The truth is that MacNeil was kicked out of his parish, Our Lady of the Sea on the isle of Barra, over his sexual antics. And the mother of his child, first cousin Hilda Robertson, was not his only lover. MacNeil was exposed after the mother of one of his other girlfriends, 22-year-old Jennifer Gilbert, reported him to the Bishop of Argyll and the Isles. Jennifer later told the Record how MacNeil began "grooming" her when she was a teenager. And after he finally seduced her, he had sex with her six times in a single night. But even as MacNeil was romancing Jennifer, he was cheating on her with Hilda. She left her husband and kids and gave birth to the priest's daughter. The little girl is now two but MacNeil has never seen her. Jennifer believed he had several other lovers while he was still a serving priest. She said his Glasgow "love nest" was crammed with ladies toiletries, as well as adress, handbag and women's undies. She claimed: "I found a pack of condoms in his suitcase - and two were missing. I confronted him about it and he made a ridiculous excuse that he and the other priests were playing 'water balloons'. "I became very suspicious that he was bringing other women back to the flat." MacNeil was suspended from the active priesthood when the sex scandal broke. After leaving Barra in disgrace, he went to ground. The case against him was referred to the Vatican and is still ongoing. The rogue priest did another runner after Strathclyde University showed him the door last year. MacNeil has moved out of his rented flat in Fairlie, Ayrshire, and changed his mobile phone number. The students he pestered plan to make formal complaints about him to the Catholic Church. A church spokesman said: "This case remains outstanding and a judgment is awaited. It would be inappropriate to comment further." A Strathclyde University spokesman said: "Any complaint made to the university is treated with the utmost seriousness and investigated thoroughly." HAVE you had any dealings with Father Flash? Do you know where he is? Call the Record, from TOMORROW,on01413093251.
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