UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian
Rajeev Syal and Harriet Sherwood
Wednesday 16 March 2016
The former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey failed to pass on a specific allegation of sexual abuse to the police, which allowed a bishop to continue committing offences for another 20 years, a public inquiry has heard.
Carey was sent a detailed letter by an alleged victim of the bishop Peter Ball in 1992 outlining claims of sexual abuse, a preliminary hearing of the independent inquiry into child sex abuse (IICSA) was told.
Last year Ball was sentenced to 32 months in prison for misconduct in public office and indecent assault after admitting the abuse of 18 young men between 1977 and 1992.
Richard Scorer, a partner at Slater and Gordon, which represents victims of Ball, said the victim known as A13 by the inquiry knew Ball through family. He said A13 wrote to Carey outlining the abuse in 1992, but the claims were not given to the police.
“We believe that George Carey failed to pass that information on to the police and that was one reason why a proper investigation into Ball’s activities was delayed by over 20 years,” Scorer said.
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