UNITED KINGDOM/TENERIFE
Derby Telegraph
Saturday, August 31, 2013
By Zena Hawley
A FORMER Derby priest being extradited from Tenerife to face allegations of sexual abuse involving altar boys over three decades appears to have “lived like a ghost” on the Spanish island.
Francis Paul Cullen, 85, who spent 18 years working at Christ the King Catholic Church, Mackworth estate, has been detained on a European arrest warrant issued by Britain.
He travelled to the National Court in Madrid to face extradition proceedings but his neighbours back in Arona said they hardly knew him.
Miguel Gutierrez said: “We knew nothing of the priest until we saw the police activity. If this man has lived here for as long as they say then it is amazing – we have never noticed him here.”
German Beate Weber, 47, who also lives and works in Arona, said: “I spoke with the police because we had heard about an arrest. They said he had been keeping himself quiet – as if he was living like a ghost.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.