‘In his own words he has sinned significantly,’ – Former priest jailed for downloading indecent images of children

UNITED KINGDOM
Lancashire Telegraph

A FORMER high ranking cleric caught downloading indecent images of children for the third time was jailed for 20 months.

Twice-married Paul Battersby had also been found with a shoebox full of children’s clothing and had even written a fantasy about child abuse.

A court heard that he had carefully documented the internet search terms he had used to find the images and had unusually taken the trouble to categorised his collection of photos and videos.

Battersby worked in various church roles in the North including the priest at St Peter’s Church in Darwen and later part-time vicar at St Marks in Blackburn.

The 68-year-old who was later elevated to the Church of England’s National Youth Officer and representing the church internationally, was told by a judge that he had no option but to send him straight to prison.

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