Francis
Paul Cullen was extradited back to the UK from Spain after the church and local
safeguarding boards tracked him down
theguardian.com,
Press Association, Monday 24 February 2014
Francis Paul Cullen spent 20 years in Spain after fleeing Britain. The Catholic church tracked him down to Tenerife. Photograph: Marco Simoni/Getty Images |
An
85-year-old former Catholic priest has admitted sexually assaulting seven
children, including altar boys, after spending more than 20 years on the run in
Spain.
Francis
Paul Cullen was extradited back to the UK last year to face the charges after
being traced to Tenerife. The Catholic Church and its safeguarding board helped
police to trace Cullen, who was found to have attended mass at a church in
Playa de las Americas every Sunday.
On Monday
Cullen, looking frail in the dock, pleaded guilty to 21 charges at Derby crown
court. The offences, committed between 1957 and 1991 on children aged between
six and 16, took place while Cullen was a practising priest in Mackworth,
Derbyshire, and later Buxton, Derbyshire, and Hyson Green, Nottinghamshire.
Cullen pleaded guilty to 15 counts of indecent assault, five of indecency with
a child and one of attempted buggery.
Judge
Jonathan Gosling told Cullen, who was born in Dublin, that a "very
substantial" custodial sentence was inevitable.
Prosecutor
Sarah Knight told the court Cullen was extradited from Tenerife last year on a
European arrest warrant containing a series of charges of sexual abuse. She
said further complainants had come forward and, because of the European arrest
warrant, they had needed to seek the permission of the Spanish authorities to
charge Cullen with further offences. But Cullen agreed to the further charges,
meaning they no longer needed to seek the authorities' approval, the prosecutor
told the court.
Following
the guilty verdicts, the judge adjourned sentencing until 24 March. Cullen was
remanded in custody.
Speaking
after the verdict, Detective Constable Matt Goodwin, from Derbyshire Police,
said: "I would very much like to thank the victims of this case for coming
forward to the police. It is due to them that Cullen had today pleaded guilty
to the offences. Without their help and support, this man would still not have
been brought to justice."
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