UNITED KINGDOM
West Briton
By Graham Smith
The Bishop of Truro, the Right Reverend Tim Thornton, has issued a statement in reaction to the news that former church spokesman Jeremy Dowling had been convicted of a further six child sex offences.
Dowling had been the official spokesman for the Diocese of Truro for 18 years until his retirement in 2009. The conviction followed a four-day trial at Truro Crown Court and related to Dowling’s time as a lay preacher in North Cornwall in the 1970s.
Here’s Bishop Tim’s statement in full:
“The news that Jeremy Dowling has been found guilty of sexual offences against a boy while he was in a position of trust and responsibility within the Diocese of Truro fills me with sadness and shame.
“I would firstly like to apologise unreservedly to the survivor of his abuse: I am deeply sorry that Jeremy Dowling used a cloak of ecclesiastical respectability to gain trust and access; the church failed in its responsibility when it should have been there as a positive influence.
“I would also like to thank the survivor for coming forward and acknowledge how painful and difficult this must have been. I hope the fact that Jeremy Dowling has been convicted of these offences and will now be subject to a further prison sentence will at least bring some sense of justice.
“This news will come as a further shock to many people Jeremy worked with in his long association with the church, as a Reader, a member of the Diocesan and General Synods, and as the diocesan communications officer.
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