Catholic Church 'apologises for the suffering' caused by 'sexual sadist' priest

By Mike Lockley And Madeleine Clark
Coventry live
February 7, 2021

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/catholic-church-apologises-suffering-caused-19787966

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

Father Joseph Quigley was jailed for 11 and a half years

The Roman Catholic Church in Birmingham has apologised for the "suffering" caused by Father Joseph Quigley when he sexually and physically abused a teenage boy at a church in Warwickshire for six years.

Described as a "sexual sadist", Quigley rubbed his teenage victim’s inner thigh after making him wear gym kit, made him take showers with the door open and inflicted ‘sado-masochistic’ punishments on him such as locking him in the church's crypt.

He also beat the boy with a hurling stick during his time at St Charles Borromeo RC church in Hampton-on-the-Hill near Warwick, reports BirminghamLive.

Quigley has now been jailed for 11 and a half years after being handed his sentence on January 29.

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

This week, the Birmingham Archdiocese has spoken out, describing his crimes as “unacceptable”.

A spokesman said: “There is no excuse for any kind of abuse and the archdiocese apologises for the suffering he has caused.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with all those who have suffered and we again acknowledge their courage in coming forward to provide evidence.”

The spokesman added: “We cannot change the past, but if there have been failings we must identify them and learn from them so they do not happen ever again.

“Joseph Quigley will now face church disciplinary processes that will address the seriousness of his offences. The archdiocese is committed to best practice in safeguarding, offering a compassionate response to victims/survivors of abuse.

“The archdiocese will always co-operate fully with statutory authorities in investigating and prosecuting allegations of crimes.”

Quigley, a former national education advisor for Roman Catholic schools, was convicted of a number of offences in December following a trial at Warwick Crown Court.

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 11-1.

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

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

Quigley, 56, now of Aston Hall, Church Lane, Stone in Staffordshire, was sentenced at the same court and Judge Peter Cooke - who previously described the perverted priest as "a sexual sadist and voyeur" - jailed him for 11 years and six months.

Quigley was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

Following the sentence, investigating officer Detective Sergeant Abigail Simpson, from Warwickshire Police, said: “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.”