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	We Missed the Warning Signs over Child Abuse, Vicar Admits Evening Post February 09, 2010 http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/homepage/missed-warning-signs-child-abuse-vicar-admits/article-1817695-detail/article.html UNITED KINGDOM -- A church "missed warning signs" that a volunteer in its congregation was a predatory paedophile targeting young boys, a vicar has said. Concerns were raised about the behaviour of Owen Baxter after a complaint about his behaviour two years before his arrest for child sex offences. But although police were called and action was taken to stop him from having any contact with youngsters at St Matthew's Church in Kingsdown, no evidence was uncovered of the abuse for which he was given a 12-year sentence at Bristol Crown Court yesterday. The 23-year-old, of Zetland Road, Redland, was told he would spend six years of his sentence behind bars and six years on licence and under supervision. Described as "dangerous and predatory" by Judge Jamie Tabor QC, the court heard Baxter abused boys aged between four and 12 at his home, at other houses in the city and at the church in Clare Road, Kingsdown, over a seven-year period. He would then brag about his crimes to other paedophiles on the internet. St Matthew's vicar, The Rev Mat Ineson, said last night that a complaint was made about Baxter in November 2006, two months after Mr Ineson arrived at the church. He said the complaint concerned "some rough and tumble play we weren't happy with" and led to Baxter agreeing not to help out with youth groups, not to have any contact with children at the church and to be chaperoned while he was there. The police were contacted and spoke to some parents about Baxter, who has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism affecting social interaction, but uncovered no evidence of any sexual offending. By this time Baxter had already sexually assaulted a boy at the church. But the court heard the paedophile had been able to intimidate his victims into keeping quiet, by telling them they would be in trouble if they told on him. After the incident Baxter's attendance at the church dropped off and it was not until after his arrest in 2008 that anyone there had any indication of the nature of his offending. Mr Ineson said he was "horrified" when he discovered what Baxter had been doing. He said: "We were aware he had particular issues and we dealt with them as they presented themselves, in line with advice given to us by the diocesan advisor. "No one was aware of the seriousness of what was going on – had we been aware, we would have acted differently. "Looking at it now, you can see all sorts of patterns but at the time it wasn't that clear-cut. "Any time children are harmed there has been a failure of care and that's something we will have to come to terms with. We missed warning signs in this case and we are going to have to live with that." During sentencing, the judge highlighted Baxter had gone out of his way to avoid detection, and that it took a police tip-off from Turkey to bring his crimes to light. Baxter pleaded guilty to 23 charges, dating from 2001, when he was under 16, to 2008. His offences included making more than 8,000 indecent photographs and videos of children, and distributing more than 3,000 images and videos of children via the internet. He sexually assaulted four boys, and took pictures and videos. The court heard although Baxter had Asperger's, by 2005 he was fully aware of the consequences of his actions. Judge Tabor decided against a life sentence because of Baxter's age and lack of previous convictions. He said: "Your doctor believes there is a high risk of reoffending. "He's not convinced of your motivation to change. You can be both predatory and opportunistic. "You were revelling in what you were doing on the internet. You revelled at being the hub of an internet wheel. "This aspect of the case is particularly worrying and chilling. I have not the slightest doubt you knew what you were doing, and that was wicked. "I have no doubt the public needs protection from you." Judge Tabor singled out Detective Constable Abigail Hodder for praise and recommended the chief constable should commend her for her involvement in the case. DC Hodder had recognised Baxter's voice on a video clip of abuse he had posted online, in which had pixelated his own face to avoid being caught. Speaking after the hearing, she said: "Owen Baxter collected thousands of films and photographs depicting children being abused. "Those images included some of the most extreme examples of child abuse I have seen in my police career. "In his own words, he considered himself a 'librarian' supplying the images to others." Asked if he believed Baxter could be forgiven for his crimes, Mr Ineson said: "I would hope one day that would be possible. I don't think we're at that point yet. "Part of the process of forgiveness is (Baxter) acknowledging he's done wrong and saying sorry."
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