Poltics
A ‘predatory’ veteran vicar who raped a six-year-frail boy in his church in the late 1990s has been jailed for life.
Ifor Whittaker, 80, admitted rape and rotten indecency with the baby in the sacristy of St John The Baptist Church in Sedlescombe, East Sussex, where he served as a priest beneath the name Colin Pritchard.
Hove Crown Court docket heard that Whittaker had baptised the boy who he went on to abuse in the incident in the 1990s.
The victim advised police he had been fearful during the attack and he tried to bury the memories of what happened, nonetheless ‘it had advance back to him in items over the years’, the court heard.
The veteran Church of England priest is already serving a 16-year sentence for abusing a boy between 1987 and 1991 after a trial in 2018. He was also jailed for five years in 2008 for the abuse of two adolescents between 1979 and 1983.
He has now been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum period of time of eight years ahead of being eligible to be regarded as for parole.
Sentencing him to a discretionary life sentence on Tuesday, Make a determination Gary Lucie said: ‘You are a predatory paedophile and have been for many years.
‘I doubt that you will ever cease to be a extreme danger to younger boys nonetheless that danger cannot be reliably estimated at this time.’
Ancient vicar Ifor Whittaker has been jailed for life for raping a six-year-frail boy in his church in the late 1990s
Whittaker, 80, served at St John The Baptist Church (pictured) in Sedlescombe, East Sussex at the time of the offence
Make a determination Lucie advised Whittaker: ‘In my judgment, the combination of offences is so extreme that easiest custody can be justified, and for the reasons that I have already given the appropriate sentence in this case, on count 1, is a sentence of life imprisonment.’
He continued: ‘You have been in charge for committing extreme sexual offences against four younger boys over a prolonged period even as abusing your place as a depended on member of the community as a vicar.
‘This offending is of the most extreme kind.’
One of the survivors of Whittaker’s abuse, Phil Johnson, new at the sentencing said the judge’s amble felt love ‘moral justice’ to hand down a life sentence, as the impact on victims is lifelong.
‘I think this is a really highly effective message, because in nearly 30 years of being involved in cases love this, I’ve by no means heard of a life sentence being handed down in this way ahead of,’ he said.
The 59-year-frail who runs enhance groups for adult survivors of baby sexual abuse said it sends a highly effective signal to other victims that there is hope and to abusers that this may happen to them too.
Nonetheless Mr Johnson, who has waived his fair to lifetime anonymity, said he first reported Whittaker to authorities several years ahead of the abuse he was sentenced for on Tuesday took place.
‘Had the police and the church taken these allegations extra severely, this offence wouldn’t have happened. Whittaker wasn’t even suspended from his job even as he was on police bail. That’s perfect thoroughly appalling.
Anglican vicar Whittaker glided by the name of Father Colin Pritchard when he dedicated the offences at the St John The Baptist Church (pictured) in Sedlescombe
‘Thankfully, things have changed and improved since then, nonetheless it certainly’s been a prolonged and hard battle.’
In a message to other survivors of abuse, he added: ‘I’d encourage other victims and survivors to advance back forward and speak about their abuse, because it be easiest by doing that that we can prevent these things happening in the future.
‘I’d encourage of us to accumulate enhance. Talk about it. The extra you talk about it, the easier it gets.’
Sussex Police said the initial investigation into Whittaker did now not outcome in a conviction and the force recognises the impact this had on the victim of that investigation.
‘We have made significant enhancements to how intercourse offences are understood and investigated in the intervening years and remain absolutely dedicated to bringing offenders to justice,’ a spokesman said.
Speaking start air of court, Sussex Police investigating officer Nicky Beard advised other victims of sexual offending to document it to the police, adding: ‘We will hear to you.’
Reacting to the sentencing, she said: ‘The victim has lived with the impact of this abuse for all his life, most of his life, and he’s proven so great courage to advance back forward and document him, to help us to accumulate justice for him.
‘I am hoping this final outcome can finally give him closure, and Whittaker spends most of it, if now now not the rest of his life, behind bars.’
A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Chichester apologised ‘unreservedly’ for the ‘appalling abuse’ the victim suffered, after the church’s dealings with Whittaker were coated in reviews including the Case Inspect for the Independent Inquiry into Tiny one Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
‘That history makes clear that there were a number of extreme safeguarding errors made ahead of his 2008 conviction, for which this diocese has offered unreserved apologies and from which we continue to draw lessons for our new safeguarding practice,’ the spokeswoman said.
‘This case may detached remind us of the vital importance of prioritising the safety of adolescents above any other consideration, listening to survivors of abuse, and ensuring that each field is reported to the statutory authorities without delay.’
