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Ex-bishop Peter Ball jailed for 32 months for sex offences targeting young men
Herald Scotland
A former bishop who exploited aspiring priests for his own "selfish sexual motives" has been jailed for 32 months - 22 years after the abuse first surfaced. A member of the Royal family was among a host of Establishment figures who supported the former bishop of Lewes when he avoided charges in 1993. Last month, after a last ditch attempt to get his case thrown out failed, Peter Ball pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office and two counts of indecent assault on young men in their teens. The court heard how Ball had convinced some of his victims to strip naked to pray and even suggested they submit to beatings between 1977 and 1992. Sentencing today, Mr Justice Wilkie told the 83-year-old that he had misused his position to "persuade selected individuals to commit or submit to acts of physical or sexual debasement under the guise of being part of their austere regime of devotion when they were not". The judge said: "What you did was the antithesis of what was expected of someone holding your office."
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