Church Speaks of "Sadness and Shame" Following Child Sex Conviction of Lay Preacher Jeremy Dowling

By Graham Smith
West Briton
September 2, 2016

http://www.westbriton.co.uk/church-speaks-of-sadness-and-shame-following-child-sex-conviction-of-lay-preacher-jeremy-dowling/story-29679873-detail/story.html

The Bishop of Truro has issued a statement following Jeremy Dowling's conviction

The Bishop of Truro, the Right Reverend Tim Thornton, has issued a statement in reaction to the news that former church spokesman Jeremy Dowling had been convicted of a further six child sex offences.

Dowling had been the official spokesman for the Diocese of Truro for 18 years until his retirement in 2009. The conviction followed a four-day trial at Truro Crown Court and related to Dowling's time as a lay preacher in North Cornwall in the 1970s.


Here's Bishop Tim's statement in full:

"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.

"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."

Police also praised the victim for coming forward, 40 years after the offences were committed. 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."