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	Pervert Monk Hit Woman in Her Privates No Jail for Shamed Cleric over Repeated Attacks By Ben Spencer Glasgow Daily Recod [Scotland] March 18, 2006 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16828379&method=full&siteid=66633 &headline=pervert-monk-hit-woman-in-her-privates--name_page.html A MONK who repeatedly sexually abused a woman and punched her genitals was spared jail yesterday. Mark Paterson, 47, was convicted of carrying out the attacks at Aberdeen University Chaplaincy, where he worked. And a sheriff told him he had seriously considered locking him up for the abuse of the woman, described as "vulnerable" and "immature". Aberdeen Sheriff Court had heard the woman, who cannot be named and whose age was not given, did housekeeping work at the chaplaincy. She had previously been abused by an elderly priest there and the attacks by Paterson, 47, a New Zealand-born sheep-shearer, went on for two years. Yesterday, sheriff Kenneth Stewart ordered the shamed monk, who now lives in London, to carry out 200 hours of community service. He said it was only because he had been stripped of his ministry and banned from any contact with the public that he avoided jail. Sheriff Stewart told him: "You were chaplain of Aberdeen University. Therefore, you were in a position of trust. "It's quite clear that your victim is very immature and not as smart as her age." At an earlier hearing, the court heard how the victim was using a computer at the chaplaincy when Paterson leaned over her and began touching her. On another occasion, she said she went into his room after knocking and he was standing there naked. He grabbed her, held a hand over her mouth and touched her before punching her private parts. The incidents came to the attention of the police following allegations of abuse against a priest at the chaplaincy, named as Father Kelly. Kelly, in his 70s, admitted he had abused the woman but she refused to press charges. He was withdrawn from the chaplaincy, but the court heard the victim still felt very close to him. David Moggach, defending, claimed the woman had made up the allegations to get back at Paterson after Kelly left and her role at the chaplaincy diminished. He dismissed any physical contact between her and Paterson as playful and argued there was no sexual motive. And he described her evidence, given over a CCTV system, as "incredible and unreliable". Mr Moggach said: "She appears to be prone to huge exaggeration. She is not in my respectful submission as vulnerable and incapable as she may try to portray." Jim Hay, solicitor for the Carmelite order, said after the case: "The order very much regret any suffering caused to the lady who has brought the complaint. "Stringent measures are now in place to ensure the well-being of all we serve."
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