This Is Cornwall
September 25, 2010
http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news/Vicar-cleared-molesting-children-30-years-ago/article-2684621-detail/article.html
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A vicar and former teacher accused of molesting pupils more than 30 years ago has been acquitted by a jury on all counts.
The Rev James Wilson was found not guilty by a jury of 16 counts of indecently assaulting children under the age of 13 which he had faced.
Canon Wilson, the Rector and Rural Dean of Calstock in South East Cornwall, left the dock without saying a word after the verdicts were read out.
The jury had deliberated for seven hours and six minutes following the eight-day trial at Plymouth Crown Court.
Yesterday, the public gallery was filled with members of the Mr Wilson's congregation, his family and friends, who have supported him throughout.
Mr Wilson did not wish to talk about his court ordeal, but colleague Robert Oakes said: "Support for Andrew had never wavered from the moment this broke.
"No-one can imagine what it's like for anyone in that situation. We are just pleased it's over."
Mr Wilson, aged 61 and from Calstock, taught at Pennycross Primary School in Plymouth in the 1970s and 1980s.
He was ordained in September 1982 and became a full-time priest in 1985.
During the trial, Mr Wilson told the court that he was responsible for the teaching of English, literacy and reading but denied letting children read aloud to the class.
He said that during story time, where children would all sit on the carpet and he would read to them from a chair, he encouraged an informal, relaxed atmosphere.
He told the court: "Children could get close so they could get enthralled in the story. In the 70s, we were encouraged to create a family atmosphere. Sometimes they would lean on my shoulder.
"Sometimes they would sit on my lap if they were concerned or worried about something.
"I never touched any of them in a way that was inappropriate."
During the trial the court was told that apart from the odd occasion where he had bumped into one of the witnesses in a supermarket or at a wedding over the years, he said he had not seen most of the children since school.
When the prosecution asked Wilson what he felt each individual witness's reasons were for coming forward, he said he could think of no reason.
He added: "I cannot get inside people's minds.
"It would be inappropriate to guess why they would say such things about me. All I can say is that I didn't do it and I'm telling the truth."
A former high-ranking police officer spoke in Mr Wilson's defence during the trial.
Nicholas Crowhurst, a former chief superintendent with Devon & Cornwall Police, acted as a character witness.
Mr Crowhurst, who has lived in Calstock for about 23 years, said he had not heard "a whisper, not a suspicion — nothing" regarding Mr Wilson over the past 17 years.
He said Mr Wilson had a "good reputation, particularly for his social work with the lower end of the privilege scale — the poor, the dispossessed, the sick".
He added: "I respect him as a human being, I respect what he does. This matter has come as a complete surprise, not only to me but to the complete village."
One witness had claimed Mr Wilson was "like a child in a sweet shop" when they got changed after a swimming lesson, but the former teacher had told the court he did not take the lessons because he could not swim.
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