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Catholic Church facing payout over claim Peter Tobin priest raped schoolgirl
By Craig Mcdonald
[with video] A 51-year-old woman says the priest disgraced in the Angelika Kluk murder trial repeatedly raped her when she was a child. The Catholic Church is bracing itself for a compensation action over claims the priest disgraced in the Angelika Kluk murder trial repeatedly raped a schoolgirl. The Archdiocese of Glasgow has been paying for the victim to attend counselling sessions after she made allegations against the late Father Gerry Nugent three years ago. Now a 51-year-old mum is to launch a civil action against the church over the alleged attacks which she says destroyed her life. The woman – who asked to be identified only as Teresa – said Nugent manoeuvred his way into her life when she went to stay with her gran as a vulnerable 11-year-old. She claims Nugent – who died from a heart attack in 2010 – subjected her to two years of sexual abuse before raping her for the first time days after her 13th birthday. Teresa, who lives in Glasgow, said: “I objected but he said it was OK – that this is what the priest does with his special ones. “He said I had been approved to be a special one. “I told my gran but she was furious and told me I was evil – and I just let him do what he wanted.” The woman, who is a mum-of-four, told how her dad died and she and her siblings were split up to be looked after by family members. She claims she first met Nugent when she was about six. Teresa claims Nugent was so close to her gran that he was the only person she tolerated drinking alcohol. The woman claims that after she was first raped by Nugent, he gifted her a silver bracelet. But her gran snatched it from her wrist, believing it had been stolen from another parishoner. Teresa is being represented by Thompsons solicitors in Glasgow over her compensation claim, which is being negotiated with church leaders. Shamed Nugent was removed from his position as a parish priest following the murder of Angelika Kluk whose body was found in his church, St Patrick’s in Anderston, Glasgow, in 2006. Polish national Angelika was murdered by serial killer Peter Tobin who had been unwittingly hired as a handyman at St Patrick’s where Nugent was the parish priest. During Tobin’s murder trial, at which he was found guilty, lurid details about Nugent’s sexual activity with prostitutes and Angelika were heard. The woman added: “I’ve been struggling to cope with what Nugent put me through. “I contacted the church and told them what had happened and they agreed to pay for counselling. “But someone from within the church told me to take legal advice and that is what I’ve done.” She added: “I’d visit my gran and Nugent was her priest and friend. He made my gran happy. He’d tell jokes and had lots of stories and I adored him. “My gran used to refer to alcohol as the devil – yet he was the only one she didn’t mind having a drink. “I was about 11 when he started doing things which I felt uncomfortable about.He’d hold me or stroke me – like some kind of pet cat. “One time he put his arms around me and started rubbing himself on me. “He raped me just after I turned 13 and gave me a gift for my birthday. “But my gran took it off me as a woman from the church had one similar that had gone missing.” Teresa claims the abuse continued until she was 15, when her gran died. She added: “My gran passed away suddenly and that was it – I said I didn’t want anything to do with him. “He said that I was evil, just as my gran had said. I felt nothing when I saw in the news he had died.” Teresa hopes that speaking out will encourage other victims to speak out. She said: “I introduced other children to Nugent during the time I knew him. “The church did seem to bounce him around the east, north and west of the city and you wonder why this was. I hope that speaking to the Sunday Mail will help give people the courage to come forward if they’ve been affected.” There was standing room only at Nugent’s funeral when he died, aged 66. The service was conducted by Archbishop of Glasgow Mario Conti, one of Scotland’s most senior Catholic churchmen, who paid a carefully-worded tribute to a man with a “big heart”. Three years previously, Archbishop Conti had relieved Nugent of his parish duties as a catalogue of transgressions were made public. The priest admitted to a sexual relationship with Angelika, who was found murdered under the floorboards of his church. During killer Tobin’s trial, Dublin-born Nugent claimed he had a sexual relationship with the student while she was living at the church’s chapel house. The alcoholic was also found guilty of contempt of court after failing to give straight answers to questions while giving evidence. He was forced to retire and the Catholic Church issued an apology over his behaviour. After his death, it emerged he also used prostitutes in the chapel house. There had been numerous complaints to the church about his sexual advances toward vulnerable members of his flock. At a previous parish in Glasgow’s Ruchill, he came to the attention of Strathclyde Police when a woman accused him of rape. Teresa said: “I didn’t go to the police when I decided to come forward as I knew he was already dead. “I first approached the church instead in 2015, and Archbishop Tartaglia sat and listened and said he believed me completely. Meetings continued but the barriers came down last year and they said they wanted me to get a lawyer so I could apply for compensation. “I asked, ‘How much is appropriate for multiple rapes of a child?’ “I don’t want money for foreign holidays or frivolous reasons. I want it so I can continue my counselling for as long as I feel I need it. “I want to get my health and life back on track. It has affected every aspect of my life for more than 30 years. “The church has paid for counselling which has saved my life and I’ve had meetings with their safeguarding officers. “I just want to ask what they’re doing about abuse. I want more than anything to encourage people to come forward.” Teresa’s lawyer Alan Rodgers said: “The church need to be more pro-active as I suspect there could be many more victims of such abuse. I salute Teresa’s courage in coming forward to speak about this. There’s help out there.” A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Glasgow said: “Father Gerry Nugent was removed from public ministry by the church when evidence of misconduct emerged following the tragic murder of Angelika Kluk in 2006. “The church has apologised unreservedly to all who have been affected in any way by abuse by the clergy. Such abuse is evil and indefensible. “The person in this case brought her case to the attention of the church several years ago and we’ve been in supportive and sympathetic dialogue. “Confidentiality prevents us from disclosing details of this case. “But in general terms, we can support survivors with counselling, with practical help and with advice about legal representation in order to pursue a claim for compensation if they wish. “The church of today has radically different rules and procedures in place to protect children and vulnerable adults than was the case 35 years ago.”
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