Phaedophile priest Francis Paul Cullen jailed for 15 years

Paedophile priest Francis Paul Cullen jailed for 15 years
Priest who abused seven children, including altar boys, over 34-year period had pleaded guilty to 21 charges.




"Predatory" Francis Paul Cullen, 85, pleaded guilty to 21 charges of indecent attack and other sexual offences last month after being extradited to the UK last year following 22 years on the run in Tenerife. The offences were committed between 1957 and 1991 on children aged between six and 14.

Four altar boys were abused while Cullen was practising in Mackworth, Derbyshire, between the 1950s and 1970s. In the 1980s, he abused two girls after he moved to work in Buxton, Derbyshire, and then went on to abuse another altar boy in the early 1990s after he moved to Nottinghamshire. The clergyman fled to Tenerife in 1991 while facing charges of sexual assault brought by Nottinghamshire police.

Prosecutor Sarah Knight told the court that Cullen had been a "well-liked and respected" clergyman whom families trusted and children "idolised". They were unaware of the "predatory paedophile" hiding out behind the mask, Knight told the court.

Dublin-born Cullen was traced to Tenerife last year with the help of the Catholic Church’s safeguarding board. He was extradited back to the UK on a European arrest authorization containing a series of sexual abuse charges.

The clergyman was due to deny the charges at Derby crown court last month but changed his plea to guilty on what would have been the first day of his trial.

He admitted 15 counts of indecent assault, five of indecency with a child and one of attempted sodomy.


Synonyms

Extradited: deport, exile
Deny: contradict, dispute
Assault: aggression, invasion  
Fled: escape, run away   
Plea: supplication
Altar boy: a boy serving as an acolyte, who helps the priest
Facing: surface, revetment
Unaware: unknowing, unmindful
Trial: preliminary, probationary
Idolised: admired, adored, venerated
Attempted: tried, struggled
Traced: follow, pursuit, run down
Safeguarding: protection, preservation
Offences: crimes, faults
Extradited: deported, expelled
Prosecutor: investigator -lawyer

Summary

Priest Francis Paul Cullen. who was born in Berlin, has been accused of abusing children. He was living in Tenerife and was extradited back to the UK where he practised all sexuals harassments. Also people are surprised because they trust their children to him and they couldn't believe that this men was a phaedophile. Finally he has accepted 15 charges and at the present he will be in prison for 21 years. 

Video

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1dbf9v_ex-priest-admits-child-sex-charges-xvid_news

 
by Ruth Alquinga, Alina Achig and Alexandra Pons