A British vicar has been found guilty of sexually
abusing a string of young boys over three decades. One of victims was brought to
Malta
for a holiday by Rev. David Smith, who was on Thursday
found guilty of taking advantage of his trusted position to groom and molest
six vulnerable youngsters.
52-year-old
Rev. David Smith of St John the Evangelist
Church at Clevedon, Somerset has denied all 12 charges. According to BBC News, he claimed
all the offences were a "figment of someone's imagination".
The jury of eight women and four men at
Bristol Crown Court took two hours on Thursday to find him unanimously guilty
of 10 charges of indecent assault, one sexual assault of a child under the age
of 13 and one of sexual activities with a child under the age of 16. The boys
were indecently assaulted during sleep-overs at the vicarage and during
holidays abroad.
The attacks happened between 1976 and 2005
and involved six boys under the age of 16.
Among the victims who were abused between September
1976 and May 2005, was a 12-year-old boy the vicar brought to Malta for a
holiday. The child tried to break off contact soon thereafter however in a
Court hearing last month it emerged that Rev. David Smith deluged him with
letters and phone calls begging him to see him, according to The Daily Express.
According to the Daily Express, the Church of
England authorities failed to act despite two separate warnings about his
alleged behaviour. The first warning came
in 1983, followed by another in 2001, reported BBC News. The two complainants had
been assured that the matter had been "dealt with".
