Vicar found guilty of child sex abuse

A parish priest was today found guilty in England of sexually abusing a string of boys over nearly 30 years.

The Rev David Smith, 52, took advantage of his trusted position to groom and molest six vulnerable youngsters.

He indecently assaulted some of his young victims during sleep-overs at the vicarage in Clevedon, Somerset, England and during holidays abroad.

The two-week trial at Bristol Crown Court heard that concerns about the vicar were raised with the Church of England on two occasions, first in 1983 and again in 2001.

The two complainants were assured that the matter had been “dealt with”, but Smith continued to abuse boys in his parish.

Smith, vicar of St John the Evangelist in Clevedon, had denied all 12 charges against him, claiming they were a “figment of someone’s imagination”.

But a jury of eight women and four men took just two hours to find him unanimously guilty of 10 charges of indecent assault, one sexual assault of a child under 13 and one of sexual activities with a child under 16.

The attacks happened between 1976 and 2005 and involved six boys under the age of 16.

Smith closed his eyes as the jury foreman read out the guilty verdicts on all the charges.

Smith’s abuse began when he was appointed assistant housemaster at the Douai Abbey monastic boarding school in Berkshire in 1975.

During his one academic year at the school he abused three boys after inviting them into his quarters.

Nearly 25 years later, one of the alleged victims saw Smith speaking about the death of his cousin in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Shocked to see his former teacher was now a vicar, he wrote to the church to express his concerns.

The victim was reassured by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, Jim Thompson, that the problem had “effectively been dealt with”.

Smith left the school and went on to form a close relationship with another young boy after being appointed as curate in the parish of Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, in 1981.

He lent the troubled 12-year-old boy money and regularly invited him to the vicarage.

Smith was even entrusted to look after him when his parents went on holiday for a week, but used the opportunity to indecently assault the youngster, it was claimed. The charge was dropped during the trial on a legal technicality and the vicar was cleared of abusing him.

The jury heard that the youngster’s parents became so concerned about Smith’s relationship with their son that they contacted the police.

His mother said she was left with the impression that the Church was going "to deal with the problem", but Smith went on to abuse three more boys after becoming vicar at St John’s in Clevedon in 1993.

He visited local schools asking youngsters if they would like to join the church’s choir. Smith gained their trust by inviting them to the vicarage to do their homework, or by taking them on trips to the seaside.

He told them he “loved them” and even kissed one shocked boy on the lips.

The vicar later applied “emotional pressure” to one teenager after he tried to stop seeing him.

In one letter he wrote: “I have been left feeling like a much-loved pet, who no longer gets fed or walked because you have found other interests.

“Wouldn’t it be better to set the pet free rather than keep him locked in a cage just in case he’s wanted again.”

The alleged abuse only came to light when his final victim, a 13-year-old altar boy who wanted to become a priest, told a church member what had been going on.

Police launched an investigation and traced the other alleged victims through church records, the court heard.

Smith denied all the allegations and claimed the boys were lying.

One of the boys later told police he had not reported Smith because he never thought anyone would believe his word against a local vicar.

Smith was suspended from duty by the Diocese of Bath and Wells pending the outcome of the case.