Ex-Priest Arrested in Abuse Probe

Rutland & Stamford Mercury
April 17, 2012

http://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/ex-priest-arrested-in-abuse-probe-1-3742665

A retired Church of England priest from Sussex, who is at the centre of an abuse inquiry, has been arrested over new sexual assault allegations.

Canon Gordon Rideout, 73, was arrested and interviewed on Monday on suspicion of four sexual assaults on young people during the late 1960s and early 1970s in Ifield, West Sussex, and Middle Wallop, Hampshire, according to Sussex Police.

Mr Rideout, From Eastbourne, East Sussex, was due to answer bail on Wednesday following his arrest on March 6 on suspicion of sexual assaults committed against nine young people in Crawley, West Sussex, Barkingside, north east London, and Middle Wallop, Hampshire, between 1965 and 1972. He has been bailed to return on June 20, a Sussex Police spokesman said.

Mr Rideout was first arrested in March following a six-month investigation by Sussex Police child protection detectives who re-examined several historic allegations referred to in a confidential report provided by Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss last year.

The force and the Diocese of Chichester provided detailed information to the report of some historic allegations of sexual abuse by Church of England priests against young people in Sussex and elsewhere.

Former parish priest Robert Coles, 70, from Eastbourne, was also arrested in March at his home in Eastbourne on suspicion of sexual assaults against three young men in West Sussex during the late 1970s and mid 1980s.

He answered bail and was also interviewed on suspicion of a further two sex assaults which allegedly took place during the 2000s in East Sussex, a police spokesman said.

He was released on police bail until June 19 pending further inquiries and consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.

The arrests threw further scrutiny on the Diocese of Chichester whose child protection policies are the subject of an official inquiry set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury last year.

A special helpline, manned by staff at the NSPCC, has been set up for anyone who feels they need support or advice on 0800 389 5344.