http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4276614.stm


Sex abuse priest given four years
A Catholic priest who taught at the prestigious Ampleforth public school in North Yorkshire has been jailed for four years for sexually abusing boys.
Gregory Carroll, 66, abused 10 youngsters over an eight-year period at the school in the early 1990s.
Jailing Carroll Judge Paul Hoffman said the offences were part of a grooming process involving the young pupils.
York Crown Court heard Carroll, who pleaded guilty to 14 indecent assaults, was revolted by what he had done.
The priest confessed to the headteacher at Ampleforth that he had sexual contact with a boy in 1987. He was suspended and moved to a parish in Cumbria.
But 12 years later he returned to the school and admitted his abuse had been more widespread.
The court heard the school called in psychologist Dr Elizabeth Mann to carry out a risk assessment, but it was never completed because papers held by the abbey about Carroll's history of sexual abuse were withheld from Dr Mann.
Judge Hoffman told Carroll it was perhaps ironic that the refusal to hand over papers in order to protect him had resulted in Dr Mann referring the case to the authorities.
'Weird experience'
Prosecutor Jeremy Goss QC said some of the victims had been left distressed and confused by what had happened to them.
One had been chased around a room by Carroll after being abused and described it as "a weird experience".
Defending, Nicola Gatto said Carroll did not have his first sexual experience until the age of 34. He was, she said, "naive and unworldly".
"He has expressed his revulsion towards his behaviour and has described it as grotesque," she said.
Judge Hoffman ordered Carroll to sign the sex offenders' register on his release and banned him from working with children for life.
'Deep regret'
After the sentencing Father Cuthbert Madden, Abbot of Ampleforth, apologised to the victims.
He said: "Father Gregory has been reflecting on the offences he has admitted.
"While they took place more than 20 years ago, he regrets deeply the hurt he caused to the young men involved and to their families.
"His fall from the high standards expected of a man committed to a life of service to God is in no way diminished by the interval of two or three decades.
"As a community we continue to pray for and to care for our brother but our first concerns now are for the victims of his abuse of trust, who were boys in our care at the time.
"We publicly offer them our unreserved apology and deep regret."


http://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=190634

Priest facing 15 sex charges
A FORMER Workington priest has appeared in court charged with 15 counts of indecent assaults and five of gross indecency at a private school 32 years ago.

Father Gregory Peter Carroll, 65, taught at Ampleforth College between 1973 and 1983.

He was linked to the fee-paying school until 1987, when he moved to Workington’s Our Lady and St Michael’s Church, where he spent about 14 years as a priest.

The alleged assaults date back to his time at the college, and the alleged victims were all under 14 at the time.

The charges were brought after a 12-month police probe into Ampleforth Abbey, which is attached to an independent school run by Benedictine monks.

Fr Carroll appeared at Scarborough Magistrates’ Court. He did not enter a plea and was released on bail.

Fr Cuthbert Madden, elected Abbot of Ampleforth last month, said: “We consider that the safety and protection of children in our care is a sacred responsibility.

“Even though these events are alleged to have occurred a quarter of a century ago, the passage of time does nothing to lessen that responsibility.

“We have given the police our complete co-operation at every stage.”

Fr Carroll was a well-known face in Workington.

He started the town’s credit union and was a chaplain to the town’s old infirmary on Honister Drive.

He was also instrumental in setting up a home for released prisoners in the town.

Fr Michael Phillips, of Our Lady and St Michael’s, who worked with Fr Carroll, said he was much-loved in the parish and was down-to-earth.

The Reverend Ken Wright, former Workington chaplain, said Fr Carroll was very community-minded.

He said: “He came up with the idea for the credit union because he had never had a bank account. He was deeply involved in social justice. I worked with him through Churches Together and he was a strong supporter of that.”