UNITED KINGDOM
Isle of Wight County Press
THE former vicar of Newport, Canon Stephen Palmer, has been jailed for three years and three months for sexual assaults on a 17-year-old girl in the 1970s.
During one assault, Palmer told his victim that no-one would believe her if she told them what he had done.
At a sentencing hearing at Portsmouth Crown Court today (Friday), Palmer stared impassively as he was jailed for six offences of sexual assault against the teenager.
He had denied all the charges, but was convicted by a jury on May 15 following a trial, also at Portsmouth.
At the time of the offences, Palmer was a curate at a church in Stubbington, Hampshire, having previously served in the Royal Navy Reserve as a chaplain.
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