‘There needs to be a public investigation – Justin Welby should be made an example of’

When helium was 15 years old, Craig Freedman was caught stealing from the postulation container astatine his section church.

Rather than study him to the police, John Roberts, the clergyman astatine the church, asked him to unusual jobs astatine the vicarage arsenic a signifier of recompense.

But what began arsenic a elemental mode to wage backmost what helium stole turned into a surviving nightmare – 1 that has haunted him for decades.

Craig, 51, is 1 of 4 survivors who were sexually abused by Roberts astatine St Peter’s Church successful Woolton, Liverpool.

While Roberts was aboriginal convicted of indecent battle pursuing his actions towards Craig, helium was allowed to proceed practicing and roseate done the ranks of the Church of England.

During his tenure arsenic Dean of Liverpool from 2007 to 2011, erstwhile Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, allowed Roberts to proceed officiating contempt knowing astir the humanities conviction.

Craig, who has waived his close to anonymity, is present calling for an autarkic probe into the erstwhile Archbishop – and says the Church of England’s safeguarding process is not acceptable for purpose.

‘The religion enactment maine down, slandered me, and my full household who adopted maine arsenic a kid disowned me, ne'er believed me, and to this time they inactive don’t judge me,’ helium told Metro.

‘The religion is present trying to let Welby to sneakily retire. He is simply a disgrace.’

Craig had been going to the religion with his foster household for years arsenic a kid earlier the assault.

It’s known arsenic The Beatles Church arsenic it’s wherever John Lennon and Paul McCartney met successful the 1950s, and inspired them to constitute classical opus Eleanor Rigby aft seeing the sanction connected a headstone successful its graveyard.

Following Craig’s theft successful 1987, Roberts began paying attraction to him. But the attraction soon turned to intersexual grooming, and Roberts began bribing him with gifts.

Two years later, erstwhile Craig was 17, Roberts was arrested and charged with indecent assault. Following a proceedings astatine Liverpool magistrates tribunal successful 1989, Roberts was fined £500 and placed connected the enactment offenders register, but kept his presumption wrong the Church of England.

Following the conviction, the then-Archbishop of Liverpool David Sheppard called Roberts’ condemnation a ‘miscarriage of justice’ and described Craig arsenic a ‘liar’.

It destroyed his estimation and ruined his narration with his adoptive household – thing that has ne'er recovered, Craig said.

‘All David Sheppard could rant connected astir was “It was a miscarriage of justice, this lad is simply a liar” and it was each astir Mr Roberts, not astir the information a 15-year-old had enactment up with each of this.

‘It’s similar the religion is saying, “You tin perpetrate arsenic galore heinous crimes arsenic you like, but erstwhile you’re implicit the threshold of the religion you’re safe, and you tin transportation connected committing these crimes.”‘

Following his conviction, Roberts was made a Canon of Liverpool Cathedral successful 1995, which Craig said gave him much ‘protection’ and authority.

‘I, arsenic a unfortunate of Mr Roberts and the church’s hands, I’ve done everything I perchance tin arsenic a unfortunate to beryllium heard again,’ Craig, a dada of three, said.

‘I couldn’t judge that they knew Mr Roberts had had a condemnation but they enactment him successful the cathedral and made him a canon.

‘How travel these radical are successful specified precocious positions and they’re the ones doing heinous crimes? He’d been fixed escaped tally to maltreatment people.’

Roberts is presently successful situation serving a 12-year condemnation aft being convicted for abusing 3 different victims, 2 children and 1 adult.

Now aged 89, the disgraced vicar was convicted of 10 counts of historical indecent and intersexual battle successful 2020 against 2 victims and jailed for 9 years.

Following the publicity from that trial, different unfortunate came guardant and Roberts was recovered blameworthy of 5 much historical indecent battle charges successful June 2024.

He was sentenced to 4 years successful prison, 3 of which were added connected to his archetypal sentence.

During the Roberts proceedings successful 2020, Welby appeared arsenic a prosecution witnesser and apologised for his handling of a ailment made against Roberts by 1 of his different victims. He says helium did not cognize the afloat grade of Roberts’ erstwhile condemnation astatine the time.

A spokesperson for Welby told Metro he ‘regrets’ the handling of that circumstantial complaint.

But Craig wants a full, autarkic probe into what Welby and Sheppard – who died successful 2005 – knew astir Roberts.

Lambeth Palace told Metro ‘at nary stage’ did Welby conceal information.

In November, Welby resigned pursuing the merchandise of the John Smyth report, which recovered Smyth, considered the astir prolific serial abuser associated with the church, had abused much than 100 children and young men.

The study added that Smyth could person been brought to justness if Welby had acted sooner.

Last week, Welby served his past time arsenic Archbishop of Canterbury, a relation helium had held since 2013.

In 2022, an Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), investigated respective institutions including the Church of England successful narration to kid enactment abuse.

The Roberts lawsuit was hardly mentioned owed to his ongoing proceedings astatine the clip the IICSA study was being written – truthful Craig wants different enquiry focusing solely connected the Church of England successful Liverpool.

He has concerns that immoderate probes tally by the Church themselves could mean different cases are swept nether the rug and victims volition not get the justness they deserve.

He said: ‘An autarkic assemblage needs to measurement successful and instrumentality implicit control, due to the fact that you can’t person perpetrators checking themselves out, that’s the deception successful it all.

‘Us victims, who person travel guardant and gone done atrocities, request to beryllium heard and listened to.

‘There needs to beryllium a nationalist probe into Welby and aft that I would similar him made an illustration of.

‘The religion needs to basal up and marque a large interaction to beryllium their worth, not conscionable to victims but to everybody.’

Craig’s woman Gemma, a captious enactment for her husband, agrees. She asked: ‘At what signifier volition the religion committee a study that really has idiosyncratic who tin reply for these issues?

‘Roberts tin talk for himself, Welby tin talk for himself, wherefore are they not facing immoderate benignant of judicial reappraisal oregon investigation?

‘The religion has to instrumentality immoderate benignant of work for leaving Roberts there. He created nonstop harm to guiltless people, and they’re complicit successful that.’

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Liverpool told Metro they ‘salute the bravery’ of Craig and Roberts’ different victims for coming forward.

The spokesperson said: ‘We regret that successful 1989 Bishop David Sheppard publically declared enactment for Mr Roberts, declaring him to person suffered a miscarriage of justice.

‘We besides regret that this was not appropriately challenged astatine the clip arsenic it acceptable a code for aboriginal interactions.

‘We besides recognize the heavy wounded that survivors felt connected seeing that Mr Roberts was fixed the rubric Canon successful 1995, arsenic we recognise that this gave the quality of a promotion and a presumption successful the church.

‘We made respective attempts to negociate Mr Roberts’ behaviour and restrict his interaction peculiarly with children. This led to Mr Roberts being told to measurement down from his cathedral ministry successful 2014.

‘The then-Bishop of Liverpool, Bishop Paul Bayes, withdrew support to officiate successful 2015.

‘He was prevented from conducting funerals, and required to study each conversations successful the cathedral successful a monthly study arsenic portion of a safeguarding agreement.’

The Diocese of Liverpool said the Roberts lawsuit has been ‘subject to a fig of reviews and scrutiny’ but would ‘fully cooperate’ if immoderate further probe was launched.

In effect to Craig’s calls for an autarkic safeguarding squad for the Church of England, they said the religion would ‘welcome systems that enactment a robust attack to safeguarding’ and would beryllium blessed for its practices to beryllium ‘robustly and independently scrutinised’.

The Diocese besides admitted to making ‘mistakes’ successful past attempts to negociate Roberts, saying: ‘We recognize Craig’s concerns astir however allegations of maltreatment are dealt with.

‘However, it was our interior investigations that brought guardant 2 much victims of Mr Roberts who until we disclosed were chartless to the police.

‘This enactment strengthened the 2nd proceedings astatine which Mr Roberts was convicted and imprisoned.

‘We person carried retired interior reviews and recognised organisational deficiencies and a nonaccomplishment successful the past to situation those successful elder positions and alteration Mr Roberts to proceed the quality of a palmy ministry.

‘We recognize that cases similar this trim the spot of survivors similar Craig and successful the past, we did not bash capable to spot survivors first.

‘We are addressing this and promote anyone who has suffered maltreatment to study their allegations.’

Lambeth Palace, the bureau for the Archbishop of Canterbury, described the assaults carried retired by Roberts arsenic an ‘appalling breach of trust’ and says the religion indispensable ‘always beryllium accountable and larn lessons’ from its handling of these cases.

In a connection it told Metro: ‘The Archbishop has publically apologised to survivors of maltreatment astatine the Church’s IICSA proceeding – and helium repeated this apology astatine the proceedings of John Roberts.At nary signifier did helium conceal information. 

‘Following the condemnation of John Roberts successful December 2020, the National Safeguarding Team looked into the actions of Justin Welby relating to this case, erstwhile helium was Dean of Liverpool.

‘After considering each applicable accusation – including grounds fixed by the Archbishop astatine some the Church’s IICSA proceeding and John Roberts’ proceedings – it was concluded that the substance was referred connected to the applicable authorities and truthful nary further enactment was considered necessary.

‘Justin Welby afloat cooperated with the National Safeguarding Team during this process, arsenic good arsenic the constabulary investigation.’

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