Former Catholic Priest Who Abused Children at Shirley Oaks Has "Too Soft" Jail Term Extended
By Tom_Matthews
A former social worker and Catholic priest who abused 13 children over more than two decades, including at Shirley Oaks children's home, today had his "too soft" jail term increased by a third. Philip Temple molested 12 boys and one girl over 25 years, starting in the 1970s, while working in south London care homes and at a north London church. He also lied on oath at a trial in the 1990s, when he was cleared of sex offences against a teenage boy - forcing his victim to go through the trauma of giving evidence against him twice. The 66-year-old, of Court Downs Road, Beckenham, was given a 12-year sentence at Woolwich Crown Court in August, after he admitted 27 sex offences and two counts of perjury. But his jail term has now been upped to 18 years by judges sitting at London's Criminal Appeal Court, who said the original term was far too short. Temple, who appeared in court over a video link from prison, showed no emotion as six years were added to his jail term. A number of his victims sat in court to hear Lady Justice Rafferty describe how Temple had gone from social work to ordination, to seek new opportunities to abuse children. He abused boys and a girl while working as a social worker for Lambeth and Wandsworth councils between 1971 and 1977, including at the Shirley Oaks children's home in Croydon. In 1988 he was ordained a priest and served at Christ the King Monastery in Cockfosters, north London, where he abused two more children. One of his victims was forced to relive his ordeal by giving evidence twice, but Temple was cleared both times at trials in 1998 and 1999. Sentencing him in August, Judge Chris Hehir described him as a "wolf in shepherd's clothing". Two people walked out of the crown court at the time of his sentencing, believing the 12-year term to be too soft, and it was condemned as "disgusting" by a victim's group. His sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright QC. Lawyers representing Mr Wright said the sentence failed to reflect the gravity of his offending, the long time span involved and the fact that some victims were abused on multiple occasions. Increasing his sentence, Lady Justice Rafferty said his victims endured insults over a long period and spent years thinking they weren't believed. Sitting with Mr Justice Spencer and Judge Mark Brown, she added: "In our judgment, this catalogue of dreadful offending is one of the more compelling examples of a gross breach of trust. "All the offender's doings, taken together, merit condign punishment. "We are confident that this term was unduly lenient."
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