Former vicar jailed for life after raping six-year-old boy in church

A “predatory” former vicar faces spending the rest of his life behind bars after he was sentenced for a third time for child sex offences after raping a six-year-old boy in his church.

Ifor Whittaker, 80, admitted rape and gross indecency with the child in the vestry of St John The Baptist Church in Sedlescombe, East Sussex, where he served as a priest under the name Colin Pritchard.

Hove Crown Court heard that Whittaker had baptised the boy who he went on to abuse in the incident in the 1990s.

Sentencing him to a discretionary life sentence on Tuesday, Judge Gary Lucie said: “You are a predatory paedophile and have been for many years.

“I doubt that you will ever cease to be a serious danger to young boys but that risk cannot be reliably estimated at this time.

“In my judgment, the combination of offences is so serious that only custody can be justified, and for the reasons that I have already given the appropriate sentence in this case, on count 1, is a sentence of life imprisonment.”

The former Church of England priest is already serving a 16-year sentence for abusing a boy between 1987 and 1991 after a trial in 2018, and had previously been jailed for five years in 2008 for the abuse of two children in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, between 1979 and 1983.

He has now been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of eight years before being eligible to be considered for parole.

The court heard that Whittaker’s fourth victim described to police being terrified during the attack and that he tried to bury the memories of what happened, but “it had come back to him in pieces over the years”.

Judge Lucie told Whittaker: “You have been responsible for committing serious sexual offences against four young boys over a long period whilst abusing your position as a trusted member of the community as a vicar.

“This offending is of the most serious kind.”

One of the survivors of Whittaker’s abuse, Phil Johnson, present at the sentencing, said the judge’s move felt like “moral justice” to hand down a life sentence, as the impact on victims is lifelong.

“I think this is a really powerful message, because in nearly 30 years of being involved in cases like this, I’ve never heard of a life sentence being handed down in this way before,” he said.

The 59-year-old who runs support groups for adult survivors of child sexual abuse said it sends a powerful signal to other victims that there is hope and to abusers that this could happen to them too.

But Mr Johnson, who has waived his right to lifetime anonymity, said he first reported Whittaker to authorities several years before the abuse he was sentenced for on Tuesday took place.

“Had the police and the church taken these allegations more seriously, this offence wouldn’t have happened. Whittaker wasn’t even suspended from his job whilst he was on police bail. That’s just utterly appalling.

“Thankfully, things have changed and improved since then, but it’s been a long and hard battle.”

In a message to other survivors of abuse, he added: “I would encourage other victims and survivors to come forward and speak about their abuse, because it’s only by doing that that we can prevent these things happening in the future.

“I would encourage people to get support. Talk about it. The more you talk about it, the easier it gets.”

Sussex Police said the initial investigation into Whittaker did not result in a conviction and the force recognises the impact this had on the victim of that investigation.

“We have made significant improvements to how sex offences are understood and investigated in the intervening years and remain fully committed to bringing offenders to justice,” a spokesman said.

Speaking outside of court, Sussex Police investigating officer Nicky Beard urged other victims of sexual offending to report it to the police, adding: “We will listen to you.”

Reacting to the sentencing, she said: “The victim has lived with the impact of this abuse for all his life, most of his life, and he’s shown so much courage to come forward and report him, to help us to get justice for him.

“I hope this outcome can finally give him closure, and Whittaker spends most of it, if not the rest of his life, behind bars.”

A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Chichester apologised “unreservedly” for the “appalling abuse” the victim suffered, after the church’s dealings with Whittaker were covered in reports including the Case Study for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

“That history makes clear that there were a number of serious safeguarding errors made prior to his 2008 conviction, for which this diocese has offered unreserved apologies and from which we continue to draw lessons for our current safeguarding practice,” the spokeswoman said.

“This case should remind us of the vital importance of prioritising the safety of children above any other consideration, listening to survivors of abuse, and ensuring that every concern is reported to the statutory authorities without delay.”