Canvey Island vicar David Tudor banned over grooming allegations

The Bishop of Chelmsford said “lesson must be learned” after a priest was sacked over sexual abuse allegations.

David Tudor, team rector of Canvey District in Essex, has been suspended for the past five years but was banned for life by the Church of England at a court hearing this week.

The panel heard he had sexual relations with two girls, one of whom was under 16, between 1982 and 1989.

The Right Reverend Dr. Guli Francis-Deqhani welcomed the decision “to ban him from ministry for life”.

“I am deeply sorry for the deep pain and harm that David Tudor’s behavior has caused.” said Dr. Francis-Deqhani.

“There will be important lessons to be learned about how this issue has been handled over many years, and I welcome the fact that there will now be a national independent review of safeguarding practice.”

the court determined It said Mr Tudor’s behavior, which occurred while he was a priest in the Diocese of Southwark, was an “abuse of trust” amounting to “grooming”.

Mr Tudor told the two-day court that he did not remember the events with the two girls, identified as dead.

The court heard how the former vicar tried to keep secret his relationship with X, which began when she was 15, and demanded that she destroy his diaries.

He issued a full apology to both X and Y.

Surrey Police said it investigated a report of “non-recent offences” of indecent assault allegedly taking place in Reigate in 2019 against a man in his 60s from Canvey Island, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided the evidence was insufficient. The matter is brought to court.

A spokesman for the force added: “As with all closed cases, we will look at the possibility of reopening the investigation if we are notified of any new or compelling evidence.”

The court heard Mr Tudor was also accused of indecently assaulting a 16-year-old girl, identified as Z, in January 1988 but was acquitted.

In 1988 he was sentenced to six months in prison for indecent assault on three other complainants, but this conviction was later overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Following a five-year suspension, he returned to ministry in the 1990s and was appointed Canvey Island’s team chaplain in 1997 and team rector in 2000.

Mr Tudor was subsequently suspended by the Diocese of Chelmsford in 2005 after a complaint was made about his behavior relating to a time before his ordination in the 1970s, which did not involve X or Y.

The court heard there was no criminal case and he was allowed to return to his post on Canvey Island.

The Rt Reverend Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark, said: Mr Tudor’s behavior was a “serious and damaging breach” he was aware of his pastoral and vocational obligations as a priest.”

Fr Chessun added that Mr Tudor’s victims were offered full support and said he was “deeply grateful” for their courage in sharing their experiences and getting involved “in this long and difficult process”.