Two Eastbourne Men Arrested in Sex Abuse Inquiry
Eastbourne Herald
WELL known former priest Gordon Rideout was one of two men arrested in Eastbourne yesterday morning in connection with a sex abuse inquiry. Seventy-three-year-old Mr Rideout, a former priest at All Saints Church and former school governor, is still being quizzed by detectives on suspicion of sexually assaulting young people in Sussex and London in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Former priest Robert Coles, 70, was also arrested at his home in Upperton Road on Tuesday morning on suspicion of sexual assaults against three young men in Sussex during the late 1970s and mid-1980s. The arrests follow a six month long investigation into allegations of sex abuse by a team of specialist child protection detectives in Sussex. The allegations being made against Gordon Rideout go back to a period between 40 and 45 years ago, and several allegations were made to police in 1972 but no criminal proceedings resulted. Another related allegation was made to police in 2001 and an arrest was made then but there was not sufficient evidence to justify criminal proceedings. Accusations made about Robert Coles, the former priest of St Philip's Church in Eastbourne, relate to a period in the mid-1970s to mid-1980s in Sussex. One of those allegations was investigated by police when they were reported in 1997, and an arrest was made, but there was insufficient evidence to justify criminal proceedings at that time. The other allegations have only recently emerged as a result of the current enquiry.
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