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	Town's Relieved That Paedo Priest Is Gone This is Gloucestershire May 21, 2011 http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/news/Town-s-relieved-paedo-priest-gone/article-3579760-detail/article.html PAEDOPHILE Bill Carney is understood to have left Northleach following yesterday's report in the Echo that he had moved into the town. Information from neighbours and a source close to his former wife's family suggest he has packed his bags. Carney was confronted by the Echo on Wednesday about his identification in the Murphy report into clerical abuse in Ireland. He is alleged to have sexually abused dozen of children when he was a priest in the 1980s, crimes he has never been prosecuted for. While he has previously denied the allegations, the shocking details featured the Murphy report, published in November 2009, has led to many questions about why the Irish authorities have never charged him. And the discovery that he had moved into Northleach, the town where he and his former wife bought a house together, left local people extremely worried. Reverend Dick Woodger said: "It's a good thing this is out in the open and the Echo gave publicity to him being here. I'm dismayed this is someone that has managed to evade justice. "The responsibility for his situation lies elsewhere and not with us. It's unfortunate that this country's system doesn't allow him to be monitored and he seems to have fallen through the net." He added: "If he's gone, I'm relieved because I would have certainly been working on some kind of strategy to cope with his presence. "It's something we take very seriously in the Church of England and I've already been in touch with the person in the diocese responsible with safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. There are children in the church, church activities with children involved and the church is involved in the schools. "My concern is also for the cohesion of the community as a whole, because characters like this can sometimes be divisive." Curate Rev Nick Fisher, also a town councillor, was present at Wednesday's town council meeting when a worried resident raised the issue of Carney's presence in the village. He said: "Of course, for anybody who is concerned with children in Northleach, this is an issue that needs to be properly addressed. "It's something that can't just be ignored." Stephen Wilson, landlord of the Sherborne Arms, Market Place, added: "It wouldn't surprise me to hear that this man had gone – he has to accept he has done something wrong and must accept the consequences. "Northleach is a tight community. We have a thriving school and a lot of youngsters around and I could understand that a lot of people would find this very distressing."
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