Priest "Sexually Abused Vulnerable Schoolboys at West London Care Home"
London Evening Standard
A Roman Catholic priest sexually abused vulnerable boys along with the manager of a care home, a court has heard. Father Anthony McSweeney, 68, is on trial over alleged historic sexual abuse at a children's home in Hounslow, west London. The charges came following an investigation at Grafton Close Children's Home. The jury at Southwark Crown Court was told that the defendant was close friends with John Stingemore, who managed the home between 1979 and 1981. He was found dead last month aged 72. Sarah Plaschkes QC, opening the case for the prosecution, said Stingemore would have been in the dock with McSweeney if he was still alive. She told the court that Stingemore took his "favourites" from the care home to his seaside property in Bexhill, East Sussex, at weekends. One of the alleged victims was taken to the coastal home with another boy - who is not part of the indictment and later killed himself - and the priest, the court heard. Ms Plaschkes said when they arrived the boys were told to "have a shower and dress smartly", before they were each taken upstairs by the men. The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was forced to listen to "screams, shouts and crying" as the other boy went first, the prosecutor said. She then told the court what was said to have happened when it was the turn of the alleged victim. "Mr McSweeney and Mr Stingemore were in the room," she said. "(The boy) was told to take his clothes off. He had no choice but to do as he was told. "Mr McSweeney removed the robe that he was wearing - he was naked underneath - and he went over to (the boy) and hugged him and laid him down on the floor on his back. "He said to Mr Stingemore, 'leave us'. "Mr McSweeney then touched and rubbed (the boy's) body. (He) was scared, he was frightened and was crying. "Eventually Mr McSweeney ejaculated on to (the boy's) chest. During the course of that Mr Stingemore came back and stood watching with his hands in his pockets, appearing to play with his genitals." The court heard that on other occasions the boy was tied to a bed in an emergency room by Stingemore, who then stroked his genitals and smacked his bottom. It is claimed that he was abused by Stingemore until he was sacked in 1981. McSweeney did not go to Grafton Close after his friend's dismissal. The jury of seven men and five women was told that a second victim was abused at the care home when McSweeney pulled down the teenager's trousers and underwear before masturbating him until he had an erection. Ms Plaschkes said: "Mr McSweeney used his body to overpower (the boy)." The priest is then alleged to have produced a camera and started taking photographs of the youngster. The prosecutor added: "Afterwards he said something along the lines of, 'This is just between us, don't you be telling anyone else'." A third victim alleges that the defendant, who was known as the "fat vicar", watched as Stingemore touched his testicles and buttocks as he showered at the care home. This happened more than once and was done "for the sexual gratification of both men acting together", the jury was told. A man who claimed McSweeney watched him having a shower when he was a boy at a cub scout camp in the 1970s gave evidence from the witness stand. He is not a complainant in the case but the alleged incident is being used to support the case against McSweeney. Giving evidence behind a screen, the witness said he was in a communal shower block near the office of McSweeney, who was the camp warden. He had previously thought he was "likeable" and "fun". The man, who cannot be named, said there was no door or curtain for the individual showers. "I was in there having a shower," he said. "I couldn't say how long I had been in there, but then I was aware someone was behind me. I looked and there was Mr McSweeney about 10ft behind me just looking at me. "He said, 'don't forget to wash under the foreskin'." He went on: "He should have been looking out for me, not looking at me. "It freaked me out because I just didn't know how to respond. I think he was 20 years older than me." Ms Plaschkes told the jury that in 1998 McSweeney's cleaner was putting away his clothes when she made a discovery that left her "uncomfortable". "She found a number of sex toys and truncheons and a lot of video tapes," she said. The court heard that the cleaner played one of the videos which featured two boys aged about 14-16 having sex. Ms Plaschkes said McSweeney was arrested in 2013 after police began investigating abuse following revelations about Jimmy Savile. He told officers he had visited sex shops in the Netherlands with Stingemore. He said Stingemore bought films of child pornography and the pair watched one on a projector when they returned to the children's home. McSweeney claims he told Stingemore to turn it off. Detectives went on to uncover images of naked boys on McSweeney's laptop. Stingemore, whose body was found at his home in Stonehouse Drive, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, was described by the prosecutor as a control freak. She said: "He was very good at picking on people's weaknesses. "As officer in charge he knew the backgrounds of each of the children in the home. He would have been aware of which of the boys were particularly vulnerable." McSweeney, of Old Brighton Road North, Pease Pottage, West Sussex, listened to proceedings with the aid of a hearing loop in the dock. The defendant wore a black suit, white shirt, red patterned tie and red pocket square, and struggled to his feet with the aid of a walking stick as the charges were read out. He denies four counts of indecent assault, three of making indecent images of a child and one of taking indecent images of a child. The trial, which is expected to last two weeks, was adjourned until 10am tomorrow.
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.