Dean of Lancaster Cathedral Convicted of Sex Offences

BBC News
November 15, 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-24961955

Canon Stephen Shield is due to be sentenced on 13 December

The Dean of Lancaster Cathedral has been convicted of three historical sexual offences at Preston Crown Court.

Canon Stephen Shield, 54, had denied indecently assaulting a man between 1985 and 1992, the first occasion when the victim was 18, in Keswick and Preston.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said he abused his position of trust "for his own sexual gratification".

Shield, of St Peter's Cathedral, is due to be sentenced on 13 December.

Joanne Cunliffe from the CPS said: "The defendant was in a position of trust within the Roman Catholic Church and in the community he served.

"He abused this position for his own sexual gratification, showing complete disregard to any long-term effect his crimes may have had upon his victim."