Bishop of Chichester admits child abuse cover-up

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

The Bishop of Chichester has admitted to a former choirboy, abused as a child by an Anglican priest in East Sussex, that there was a cover-up.

Gary Johnson and his older brother, from Eastbourne, were abused by Roy Cotton, who worked for the Diocese of Chichester, in the 1970s and 1980s.

In a private letter of apology to Mr Johnson, Dr Martin Warner wrote: “There has been deception and cover-up here.”

Welcoming the letter, Mr Johnson said: “I’ve been taken seriously at last.”

He said: “It’s given me some semblance of humanity. I’ve been validated, and I’ve been met at a level where I don’t feel like a victim or a survivor.

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