PORTSMOUTH (UNITED KINGDOM)
BBC [London, England]
June 2, 2025
By Gemma Daubeney
A former Catholic priest in Jersey has been jailed for five years for sexually abusing a child.
Piotr Antoni Glas committed the 11 sexual abuse offences between 2004 and 2007 while he was a priest in the island.
Jersey’s Royal Court also gave Glas, 61, a lifelong restraining order, preventing contact with the victim, and ordered him to pay more than £12,000 towards the cost of the victim’s ongoing therapy.
In April, Glas was found guilty of three counts of gross indecency with a child.
The court heard how Glas progressively groomed his victim before abusing his position of trust to satisfy his sexual desires.
In delivering the sentence, the Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae said it was “difficult to think of a more serious breach of trust than your offending in this case”.
‘Planned and deliberate’
On Monday, Crown Advocate Carla Carvalho, prosecuting, described Glas’s “planned and deliberate” grooming.
She said Glas started by showering the victim with gifts, building up to the point where he would invite the victim to his house before using the victim’s feet to satisfy his sexual “foot fetish”.
Ms Carvalho also described an isolated incident where Glas wrestled with the victim, putting their face to his groin and their feet on his face.
She read from a doctor’s report that outlined the extreme psychological harm and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) the victim had suffered as a result of the abuse.
She also said Glas had groomed the victim’s family by supporting them spiritually and financially so that they trusted him “implicitly”.
She said Glas’ elevated spiritual and social status in the church meant the victim was dismissed when they tried to raise the abuse.
This meant the victim became a subject of blame which compounded their original trauma, she said.
Throughout the hearing, Glas sat in the court’s dock with his eyes closed, muttering under his breath. He stood with his eyes closed when his sentence was read out.
Glas was also put on the sex offenders list for 10 years.
In April, the Bishop of Portsmouth apologised for the abuse and pain Glas’s victim had suffered.
‘He took advantage’
Det Con Caroline Foord said the victim had shown “immense courage” to report the abuse.
She said: “Glas’s behaviour was manipulative, abusing his position of trust.
“As a result, his offending behaviour remained unchallenged for a prolonged period of time and he took advantage of opportunities to groom the victim for his own sexual gratification.”
The children’s charity NSPCC said Glas had “exploited his position of trust”.
A spokesperson said: “The victim in this case has shown great bravery in speaking out and helping to ensure Glas faced justice for his crimes.
“Child sexual abuse can have a devastating and lasting impact on the victims, which is why it is so important that anyone who suffers such abuse knows that if they speak out, they will be listened to and supported.”