ENGLAND
Daily Mail
January 16, 2021
By Luke May
— Stephen Hardwicke abused boys as young as 10 on trips in the 1970s and 1980s
— He groomed his victims at a youth group connected to Stanmore Baptist Church
— Hardwicke, 63, was found guilty of five counts of historic indecent assault
A former priest who sexually abused three boys as young as 10 on church youth club trips in the 1970s and 80s has been jailed for five years.
Stephen Hardwicke, 63, tricked boys aged between 10 and 15 to perform sex acts by using a card game, Harrow Crown Court heard.
The abuse took place when Hardwicke was a leader and helped at the Way In church youth group, which was connected to Stanmore Baptist Church in Harrow, London.
A court heard how some of the abuse happened on overnight trips to Wales or Hertfordshire.
The abuse happened before Hardwicke became a priest at St Laurence Cowley Church in Uxbridge – he was suspended once a police investigation was opened.
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