Former Anglican Priest Raymond Sydney Cheek Jailed for Two Years
By Shannon Hampton
A FORMER Anglican priest who sexually abused five boys over a 30-year period has been jailed for two years. Raymond Sydney Cheek, 85, was sentenced today in the District Court after a jury found him guilty in November of sexually abusing five boys in Perth, Albany, Williams and Ravensthorpe between 1955 and 1985. Four of the men, who were not known to each other, came forward in recent years after news of Cheek being charged over and incident that occurred in Williams in 1985 became public. That incident, described by Judge Ronald Birmingham as the worst of the offending, involved Cheek undressing the boy and rubbing himself against his back. After the assault, he told the boy "forget about what happened because no one would believe you. God doesn't believe in liars". Cheek has since admitted the assault after the victim was subjected to giving evidence at the trial, and Cheek accused him of making the allegations for money. Judge Birmingham said the boy felt "humiliated and degraded" and was never able to tell anybody about it because Cheek's close links with his family. Another boy was eight years old when Cheek fondled him and told him it was tradition for the parish priest to dress the alter boy - behaviour the court was told continued for three years. Cheek's first offence was in 1955 when he assaulted an 11-year-old boy when he was a scout leader in the Wembley scouts. Cheek's defence lawyer Jonathan Davies said Cheek was not "beyond redemption" and was "starting to appreciate" the harm that his offending had caused. "There is growing remorse," he said. Mr Davies estimated Cheek had about six years to live and said he was terrified of dying in prison. In victim impact statements read to the court, the victims described how Cheek's offending had "ruined" their lives. One victim said he'd "never felt worthy of a person" and "always felt like and outsider". Another said he'd "lived a life of torment, revisiting it again night after night". Sentencing Cheek, Judge Birmingham said Cheek's offending was made worse because he held a position of trust in the community. "You were believed ahead of family members whose children were required to carry the burden of your acts," he said. Judge Birmingham, who was required to sentence Cheek under penalties relevant at the time of the offending, said he found it difficult to find that the former priest was remorseful. "You seemingly lack any insight into the extent your offending has impacted your victims," he said. Outside court, the wife of one of the victims said she was disappointed by the sentence, particularly because he will be eligible for parole in one year. "He's affected all of the victims' lives forever," she said. "Why shouldn't he die in prison - why shouldn't he rot in prison?" The woman said her husband was "getting on with his life the best he can". "They have got their justice, even if it's one year in prison they've got their justice in some way." The brother-in-law for another victim said: "five guys have lived in shame for a long time, shame that was never their's to have. "Now they have shed that shame, and that shame is back where it belongs."
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