BishopAccountability.org
	Priest Found Guilty of Molesting Young Boys By Melanie Peters IOL [South Africa] October 2, 2005 A Cape Town Catholic priest has been convicted of indecently assaulting young boys when he was a trusted parish priest and chaplain at a church school in Green Point. The Wynberg sexual offences court this week heard details of the priest's assaults on young boys who had little or no defence against him as a figure of authority. After years of silence, the evidence of two victims, now adults, was read out in court. The two men were supported by their families who helped them deal with the traumatic experience of reliving the assaults. The priest, Father Patrick Thornton, 76, who was sent on early retirement by the church after his arrest in July, pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent assault. The incidents took place between 15 and 20 years ago. He was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment, fully suspended subject to stringent conditions. The court heard that in one incident, when Thornton was chaplain at Christian Brothers' College in Green Point, he called a schoolboy out of class, purportedly to discuss the boy's church duties, and then sexually assaulted him. In another case, Thornton sexually assaulted a boy who was put in his care by his parents who trusted the priest and regarded him as a family friend. Thornton was still active as a priest in the Camps Bay parish as recently as last year, when he celebrated his 50th anniversary in the priesthood. Archbishop of Cape Town, Lawrence Henry, said the matter had been referred to the Vatican and the church process was continuing independently of the now concluded criminal case. Thornton was arrested when charges of indecent assault were laid by two complainants: a man who preferred not to be identified and Sidney Coleman, who were both teenagers when the incidents happened. A feeble-voiced Thornton, dressed in an old jacket and trousers, pleaded guilty and replied "yes" when each count was put to him by Magistrate Amanda Lucas. At the height of proceedings, the priest asked if he could be seated. Thornton pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault laid by the unnamed complainant which happened while he was a parish priest in Green Point. The first took place at Thornton's residence in Green Point in 1985. The other incidents took place in Kleinmond a year later at the home of a friend of Thornton after the parents of the boy entrusted their son to his care by virtue of the fact that he was their parish priest and a family friend. Thornton also pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault against Sidney Coleman who was a pupil at Christian Brothers' College in Green Point in the 1990s. The court heard that Coleman was sexually assaulted first in 1990 when he was 14, and again when he was 15 and 17 years old. Thornton's sentence was suspended for five years, on condition that he is not convicted of indecent assault or any contravention of the Sexual Offences Act. In addition, he was placed under three years' correctional supervision, including house arrest 24 hours a day for the duration, except for purposes of work, church attendance, and to fulfil the aims of the correctional supervision; 200 hours' community service; he has to pay for at least six counselling sessions for each complainant in the Catts programme in Kenilworth Clinic; and to attend the Catts sexual offender treatment programme for at least 36 months. Coleman said he had waited for this day for a very long time. He was no longer a Catholic. "It's been a nightmare. The Catholic church needs to turn offenders over to the law. By not doing so, they are amplifying the problem by placing priests like Thornton in other parishes were they can do further harm." He pleaded for other victims of abuse to come forward, because there were those who wanted to help them and ensure that justice was served.
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