UNITED KINGDOM
The Irish News
Jemma Crew, Press Association
10 August, 2016
A MAN who was sexually abused by a former Catholic priest when he was a teenager said he was left feeling powerless after his abuser was acquitted following two trials.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he “felt like a liar” when he initially went to give evidence against abuser Philip Temple – a member of a “trusted institution” – who was eventually jailed for abuse against 13 victims at Woolwich Crown Court on Wednesday.
He said his abuser was a “shoulder to lean on” when he was being bullied at school during the 1990s.
Temple, of no fixed abode, admitted 27 counts of non-recent sexual assault and two counts of perjury, and was sentenced to 12 years in jail extended for one year on licence.
Addressing the court on Wednesday, Temple’s victim said: “When the trials took place, I knew I was telling the truth. I knew I was not lying.
“However, to have trusted institutions such as the church and the legal system allow lawyers to try and discredit me – to seed doubt of my character into the jury about how trustworthy I was – has stayed with me and led to a deep rooted mistrust of myself.
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