Bude Man Who Sexually Abused Young Children Is Jailed
Pirate FM
A Bude man has been jailed for an extra eight years after being found guilty of historic child sex abuse. Jeremy Dowling used to be a teacher before becoming press officer for the Diocese of Truro. The 78 year old, who abused children for more then ten years, is already serving a seven year sentence. Now he has been convicted of indecently assaulting another child. It happened at a church between 1973 and 1977. The Bishop of Truro, the Reverend Tim Thornton, said: "The news that Jeremy Dowling has been found guilty of sexual offences against a boy while he was in a position of trust and responsibility within the Diocese of Truro fills me with sadness and shame. "I would firstly like to apologise unreservedly to the survivor of his abuse: I am deeply sorry that Jeremy Dowling used a cloak of ecclesiastical respectability to gain trust and access; the church failed in its responsibility when it should have been there as a positive influence. "I would also like to thank the survivor for coming forward and acknowledge how painful and difficult this must have been. I hope the fact that Jeremy Dowling has been convicted of these offences and will now be subject to a further prison sentence will at least bring some sense of justice. "This news will come as a further shock to many people Jeremy worked with in his long association with the church, as a Reader, a member of the Diocesan and General Synods, and as the diocesan communications officer. "We are deeply committed to co-operating fully with the current independent inquiry into child sexual abuse in England and Wales. We are equally committed to assisting the police in any form of investigation into such acts." Dowling was originally charged with 15 counts of indecent assault, which happened when he worked as a teacher in Cornwall. The investigation was launched after five former pupils came forward to complain they were victims of sexual abuse. Detective Constable Grant Mills, Launceston CID, said: "I would like to thank the victim for having the courage to come forward, contact police and provide his evidence. In this case, Dowling had again abused his position of trust within the community. "Today's result shows that even with historical offences, we can still bring offenders to justice. "We welcome the sentence and hope it will help to give some closure to the victim and allow them to move on with their lives." Bishop Tim added: "I would like to reassure people that our current safeguarding procedures are extremely robust and we make strenuous efforts to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. Each of our 221 parishes is now required to have a trained safeguarding officer. We are constantly reviewing our training and practice. Our safeguarding work is informed by the voices and experiences of survivors. "We have recently commissioned an independent charity, Skoodhya, to provide an Authorised Listeners service, for anybody who feels they might have been abused in a church context. "Anybody who has any safeguarding matter they want to discuss can speak in the first instance to their parish priest or parish safeguarding officer (details should be visible on a church noticeboard). They can also call the diocesan safeguarding officer, Sarah Acraman, (01872 274351), or can of course telephone the police on 101." 6:46pm 2nd September 2016
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