Mum Abused by Her Local Priest As a Child Is Still Haunted by His Smell… and It’s Ruined Her Relationships and Career
By Hayley Richardson and Ann Cusack
In return for her sitting in his knee, he would give her chocolate and money and allow her to play on his typewriter. But the smell of the priest has followed her through her life, and she has ended relationships and even changed her job because of it. Jo met Father Webb at the age of six. Though her family was not religious, he had links with the community and she would visit his home, at St Benedict’s Church, Garforth, in Leeds. Mum-of-one Jo, a housing officer, said: “He had a typewriter and I was enthralled by it; I had always wanted a typewriter. “He let me play on it and he gave me chocolate and money too. He even allowed me to sing down the microphone in church when it was empty. “I loved going to visit him. I really looked forward to it.
“I never told my parents where I was going, they just thought I was playing out with my mates. “But then, he started saying that I had to sit on his knee if I wanted a turn on the typewriter. “One day, it was his birthday, so I had to sit on his knee and kiss him. “What I remember most was the smell. It was over-powering; a mix of male hormones and sweat, and it almost made me retch.” The abuse progressed and Joanne was then made to touch Webb until he climaxed. She recalled: “He would have a tissue waiting and again, the smell would leave me gagging. “Even after the abuse started I would still go to see him because I wanted to play on the typewriter. “Looking back I feel really angry with myself that I went back. But I was a little girl and didn’t understand what was happening - or how wrong it was.”
But as time went on, Jo became increasingly uncomfortable. She admitted: “On one occasion, I was clinging onto the desk for dear life, not wanting to go and sit on his knee. I became angry and confused, and soon after that, I stopped going.” Keeping the abuse to herself took its toll. Jo suffered with emotional and behavioural problems throughout her teens. “My parents didn’t understand what was wrong,” she said. “I was forever in trouble at school, shouting and answering back. I was very angry all the time. “My punishment from one teacher at school was to copy out passages from the Bible, which made me even more furious. “I didn’t want boyfriends and the thought of sex left me feeling scared. “I left school without passing any exams, but my teachers never addressed the cause of my anger issues; I was just punished for my behaviour.”
Jo had relationships throughout her twenties but struggled to trust men. She recalled: “I used to cry after any kind of intimacy. It left me feeling devastated. “Occasionally, I would get a whiff of that same smell, like the priest, and it was enough to make me end the relationship. “I would often walk past the church and I would try and pluck up the courage to go in and confront him. But I could never bring myself to do it. “I was worried that nobody would believe me either; who would take the word of a confused child over that of a well-respected priest?” Webb was later moved on to a different parish. Jo has now found lasting happiness with her current partner, Vinny, and she has a seven-year-old daughter. But the smell continues to plague her. She admitted: “It has ruined relationships for me and it has affected my career. It has followed me through my life and it brings back all the memories of the abuse. “Vinny has a lovely smell about him, and for me that is so important.”
When the Jimmy Saville abuse inquiry emerged it gave Jo fresh hope that perhaps her own ordeal would be believed. Jo explained: “I had met Jimmy Saville myself a few times because we lived in the same city. It was a shock to me – but it also gave me the courage to confront my own demons.” In 2013, she plucked up courage to knock on the church door and was met by a new priest who listened to her story. She said: “When I went in I was bracing myself for the awful smell – but it had gone.” She spoke to the police and discovered that Webb had died in 1990. Jo said: “I was gutted to find out he was dead. I had hoped for a face to face confrontation with him. I wanted justice.” The Catholic Church investigated and made a formal apology to Jo, which she insisted was read out publicly in church during mass in 2014. Jo said: “Nobody knew it was me, yet I felt all eyes were on me.”
To her horror, she discovered that other victims had made complaints of abuse. Webb had a long history of working with children and writing children’s books. Jo is now pursuing a civil action against the church. “I suffer from anger issues and depression. I want to make sure that this doesn’t ever happen again to any other child," she said. “My own daughter is around the same age as I was when the abuse started. I want to keep other children, like her, safe. “I have moved on and I am in a better place now and I want to stay positive for my daughter’s sake. I’m starting my own business, looking after dogs, and that has given me a new focus.”
Joanne’s lawyer Katherine Lindley, a specialist in abuse cases at Dewsbury based law firm Jordans Solicitors said: “Sadly this case is all too familiar, a child abused by a manipulative paedophile who used his position of trust to sexually molest an innocent little girl. “We are pursuing a civil action against the Catholic Church on Joanne’s behalf, but we are already aware that there are other victims of Father Damien Webb out there, some of whom have not yet come forward. “I would urge them to do so, firstly by contacting the Police, who take allegations of abuse extremely seriously. I would also advise victims to speak to a specialist abuse solicitor experienced in abuse cases to seek redress in the civil courts.”
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