'Sexual sadist' priest who locked boy in crypt and watched him shower sent to jail

By Hayley Parker
StokeOnTrentLive
February 2, 2021

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/sexual-sadist-priest-who-locked-4954014

Joseph Quigley, a former national education advisor for Roman Catholic schools, sexually and physically abused a boy while he was a parish priest

Father Joseph Quigley - former national education advisor for Roman Catholic schools - also beat the boy

A priest who carried out 'depraved' sexual and physical abuse on a boy during a sick six-year ordeal has been jailed for more than 11 years.

Father Joseph Quigley - described as a 'sexual sadist' - committed a catalogue of offences against his teenage victim.

These included:

• Rubbing the boy's inner thigh after making him wear gym kit;
• Making him take showers with the door open;
• Inflicting 'sado-masochistic' punishments on him such as locking him in the church's crypt, a cold and dark room containing tombs;
• Beating the boy with a hurling stick and;

• Making the boy do sit-ups and press-ups as punishments, to stand in the corner and suck paracetamols, which have a bitter taste.

The offences took place while he was the parish priest at a church from 2002 until he was forced to resign in disgrace.

Quigley, aged 56, of Aston Hall, Church Lane, Stone, was convicted of a number of offences in December following a trial.

He had denied four charges of sexual activity with a child, two of sexual assault, two of false imprisonment and one of cruelty, but a jury took less than four hours to find him guilty of all nine charges by majority verdicts of 11 to one.

The court heard that although the case involved one victim, at the time Quigley was at St Charles Borromeo RC church near Warwick there was another key witness who had also been abused by the priest.

That boy was aged 16 to 17 when he fell under the abusive influence of Quigley – and there were a number of similarities between what the two boys suffered.

Judge Peter Cooke - who previously described the perverted priest as "a sexual sadist and voyeur" - jailed Quigley for 11 years and six months.

Quigley - a former national education advisor for Roman Catholic schools - was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

During the trial, Prosecutor Adrian Langdale QC, said: "He was a Catholic priest, in a position of power and trust over the complainant.

“The abuse took two forms. First that it was overtly sexual by nature, such as touching and massaging the legs of the young complainant up to and around the groin area.

“There were other acts which were more like punishment of a sado-masochistic nature, such as caning or hitting boys with hurling sticks or shutting boys in the crypt of the church.

“It will seem extraordinary that a person’s religious beliefs could make them blind to what was wrong, but this is why Father Joe, as he was known, was able to get away with the abuse for so long."

Although some allegations emerged in 2012, the full facts only came out after the victim began to see a therapist in 2017 – and the therapist informed the police.

Following the sentencing, investigating officer Detective Sergeant Abigail Simpson, from Warwickshire Police, said: “I welcome the sentence and hope this sends strong a message to other perpetrators of child sexual abuse that we will always thoroughly investigate sexual offences against children and do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice, regardless of when the offences took place.

“Thankfully Quigley is now behind bars paying the price for his reprehensible crimes committed against a vulnerable child.

“The victim in this case has demonstrated immense bravery in disclosing what happened to him, and I hope today’s sentence offers some comfort and closure.

“I would urge anyone who may have been a victim of sexual abuse to come forward and report this to us, regardless of when the abuse happened. We will always investigate offences of this nature and are committed to ensuring victims have the necessary support in place to help them.”

Tamina Greaves, Senior Crown Prosecutor at the CPS, said: “As a priest, Joseph Quigley used his position to commit depraved offences against the victim who trusted and respected him, and he abused that trust.

"The CPS built a compelling case against Mr Quigley that included witness testimonies and documentary evidence which also demonstrated he had a history of behaving inappropriately towards another young male.

"Despite the overwhelming evidence mounted against him, Quigley continued to deny any wrongdoing but was convicted by the jury. I would like to commend the victim and key witnesses for their bravery and support in helping the CPS bring this child abuser to justice.”