City Years of Priest at Centre of Extradition Bid from Tenerife
By Zena Hawley
A PRIEST being extradited from Spain by Derbyshire police to face 16 alleged offences of sexual abuse involving altar boys spent 18 years working on a Derby estate. Francis Paul Cullen has been detained on a European arrest warrant issued by Britain and is due to appear in the National Court, Madrid, for extradition proceedings. The alleged offences involving boys aged seven, eight and 12, are claimed to have happened over a 36-year-period, with the oldest one taking place 58 years ago and the most recent in 1991. Father Cullen, now 85, came to Derby as the first priest of the newly-formed Catholic parish of Christ the King, Mackworth estate, and was then known as Father Paul Francis Cullen. He was originally ordained in May 1953 and was an assistant priest in Leicester before moving into the same role at the Church of Christ the King in Alfreton. Fr Cullen arrived in Mackworth in 1960 and conducted services at Kingsway Drill Hall before the church was built in Prince Charles Avenue. In May 1978, he celebrated his silver jubilee as a priest and the then Bishop of Nottingham, the Rt Rev James McGuinness, held Mass at the Mackworth church to commemorate the occasion. Later the same year, Fr Cullen was transferred to St Anne's, Buxton, where he remained until 1987. He then moved to work in Nottingham. Derbyshire police last night said they could not confirm the dates and locations of the alleged offences or whether Fr Cullen was accused of any offences in Derby. Fr Cullen, who is originally from Dublin, was arrested in the town of Arona in Tenerife, by local police. The extradition process can take up to 90 days but could be shortened to as little as 16 days, if, as believed, Fr Cullen agrees to returning to the UK. A spokeswoman for Derbyshire police confirmed that an officer from the force would travel to Spain to bring Fr Cullen back to the county. She said: "We don't know when this will be but we are preparing for it to happen and are hoping it could be as early as this week." But she did confirm that officers had worked with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Spanish police to trace Fr Cullen. Father Andrew Cole, spokesman for the Diocese of Nottingham, which covers Derbyshire, said it was right that Fr Cullen should return to answer to any alleged offences. He said: "We have worked closely with the police throughout the investigation which has led to his arrest and will continue to do so. "The Catholic Church is committed to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in all its activities. "If anyone feels they have been abused by a member of the Catholic church they have two choices. Either go directly to the police, or to contact our diocesan safeguarding officer, who is based in Nottingham." Contact: zhawley@derbytelegraph.co.uk
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