By Will Frampton
Wiltshire Times
September 15, 2011
http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/9253318.Priest_abused_boys_over_two_decades/
 |
| Shamed priest Leslie Carter, whose crimes span 20 years Shamed priest Leslie Carter, whose crimes span 20 years |
A CLERGYMAN is facing jail after he admitted sexually abusing young boys in his church.
Father Leslie Carter, now 84, abused boys over a 20-year period while working as a chaplain and teacher in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, a judge heard at Harrow Crown Court on Tuesday.
Carter, of Barley Close, Warminster, preyed on boys in his care and engineered situations to be alone with them.
The priest even carried out attacks in a church he ran in the grounds of one prep school where he worked.
He was warned he faced jail after admitting attacking the boys, who were aged between nine and 12 at the time.
The frail defendant, who walks with a stoop, was barely audible as he entered his nine guilty pleas from the dock, while his elderly wife sat outside the courtroom.
Justin Bearman, prosecuting, said: “It is the Crown’s case that he preyed on young men using his respected position as an Anglican priest and a schoolteacher to breach the trust in the most devastating way possible of these three young men over an extended period.”
Judge Graham White was told Father Carter met his first victim while a school chaplain at St George’s School in Cape Town, South Africa, in the 1950s.
Mr Bearman told how the cleric befriended his victim and family to such an extent they allowed him to be taken on a UK trip with two other boys.
It was during the boat trip from Cape Town that he indecently assaulted the boy, who was then 12.
Carter left South Africa for England in 1962. In 1968, he took up a position as chaplain at Quainton Hall prep school in Harrow.
There he preyed on two boys between the ages of nine and 11, said the prosecution.
He would work out ways to be alone with the youngsters, including in his living quarters, the church in the school grounds and in a Scout hut.
Abuse allegations came to light in 2004, when one of the victims, who now lives in South Africa, contacted the authorities in London and asked if any complaints had been made against Carter.
An investigation was launched and two more victims, who are now adults, came forward.
Paul Cook, defending, had asked the judge to throw out all of the charges because of the age of the allegations, claiming Carter could not adequately defend himself.
However, Judge White refused the application and on Tuesday Carter admitted nine counts of indecent assault on young boys, dating between 1957 and 1977.
A jury had been sworn in but was discharged following the guilty plea. Further counts of indecent assault and sexual assault were left to lie on the case file.
Mr Cook asked for sentencing to be adjourned for reports to be prepared and the judge agreed to the request.
Judge Graham White told Carter: “You have pleaded guilty to very serious offences involving sexually abusing young boys in your charge. You abused your position of trust, both as a priest and a teacher.”
Adjourning the case until October 19, the judge added: “I have to tell you all sentencing options remain open and a sentence of imprisonment is the most likely outcome, but, as I said, no formal decision will be made until October 19.
Carter was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register within three days.
He was released on condition he lived at the Warminster address, co-operated with the probation services and complied with the requirements of the Sex Offenders Register.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.