UNITED KINGDOM
Lancaster Guardian
A Lancaster Cathedral canon has been found guilty of sexually abusing a young man more than two decades ago.
Father Stephen Shield’s victim, who had hopes of joining the priesthood, said he felt like his soul had been “ripped out” after the sex attacks by the Catholic priest.
Father Shield, who trained in Rome, had denied sexually assaulting the man in the presbytery at English Martyrs Church, Garstang Road, Preston, on two occasions after first meeting him at Castlerigg Manor in Cumbria – where he also abused him.
But today, a jury at Preston Crown Court found him guilty of three charges of indecent assault after a trial.
The offences were committed between 1985 and 1992 when the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was aged 18 and 24.
Shield, 53, of Balmoral Road, Lancaster, became Canon at Lancaster Cathedral before he was arrested and charged with three counts of indecent assault.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.