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	Schoolgirl Tells Jury That Vicar Tried to Rape Her The Northern Echo September 8, 2010 http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/8377959.Schoolgirl_tells_jury_that_vicar_tried_to_rape_her/ A SCHOOLGIRL told a jury yesterday that a vicar tried to rape her in a church hall office and promised she would not get pregnant because he had had "the snip". The Reverend Malcolm Jackson is alleged to have pulled down his trousers and those of the teenager, but was unable to have sex with her because she struggled. During an interview with police, the girl says Mr Jackson kept the lights off, locked the main door and shut the office door before the attack. In a separate incident at the hall, the girl says the married 52-year-old took down his trousers, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. The father-of-three is accused of carrying out attacks on three occasions. He denies rape, attempted rape, sexual activity with a child and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and is on trial at Teesside Crown Court. The court heard yesterday that the girl waited nearly two years before she told anyone about the alleged abuse, because she feared no one would believe her. In the recorded interview shown to the jury, she told a detective she thought people would think she was lying because he was a vicar. Mr Jackson was serving as a curate at St Nicholas Church, in Guisborough, east Cleveland, at the time of the allegations. In 2008, he was appointed vicar of Kirkleatham. Christine Egerton, prosecuting, said the clergyman first started to hug the girl inappropriately, tried to kiss her, asked to see her underwear and then abused her. In the interview conducted by police, the girl wept as she recounted her alleged ordeal, and told the detective: "I kept thinking: 'You're supposed to be a vicar'." The jury heard that the girl was sexually abused five years ago and that her attacker was jailed. The girl said: "Malcolm was supposed to be a vicar. It is the second time this has happened to me. Is it something to do with me?" Recalling how Mr Jackson, of Mersey Road, Redcar, started his abuse by hugging her from behind, she told the court: "He put his head on my shoulder." She said she was no longer a Christian, and told the jury: "He did what he did to me. I wasn't lying about the first time and I'm not lying now." Adrian Dent, defending, said the allegations were untrue, and said all Mr Jackson had tried to do was help the girl. The case continues.
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