A shamed former bishop was today jailed for more than four years after confessing to ‘deeply shocking’ sex offences against a young boy whom he christened as a newborn baby.
Anthony Pierce, 84, the retired Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, sexually assaulted the boy during organ and piano lessons in church when he was a teenager.
A court today heard how that Pierce – whose crimes have been branded ‘wicked’ by his successor – is now in failing health and may die in prison.
The victim kept the vicar’s abuse a secret for 30 years before he told safeguarding officers what had happened to him in the 1980s.
Shockingly the Church in Wales has admitted that it was made aware of a separate allegation of sexual assault against Pierce in 1993 – but did not pass it to police until 17 years later, by which time the alleged victim had died.
After being made a bishop in 1999, Pierce met Prince William in 2002 when he presided over a special service to commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee before finally retiring in 2008 at the age of 67.
Lawyers representing sexual abuse survivors have warned that an inquiry into the scandal should be fully independent to avoid a ‘lingering doubt that things have been hushed up or swept under a carpet’.
Pierce admitted five charges of indecent assault but there were 13 instances of sexual touching leaving the boy psychologically damaged, Swansea Crown Court heard today.
He admitted being a gay man but said he had no sexual attraction towards children, a statement the prosecution described as ‘clearly untrue’.
The court heard Pierce was vicar of Holy Cross Church in West Cross, Swansea, when he christened the victim and befriended his family.
Prosecutor Dean Pulling said Pierce would give the boy bear hugs while indecently touching him making him feel ‘very uncomfortable’.
He said: ‘They were alone together, the defendant was the family priest, his parents believed their son was safe with him.
‘The victim described how the vicar’s behaviour became normalised, Pierce would try to kiss him while he touched him sexually. It would happen once a fortnight.
‘It came to light in 2023 when the victim told his brother and parents what had happened to him and they went to a Church in Wales safeguarding officer.’
The victim, described as a ‘talented musician’, was praised by Judge Catherine Richards for bravely facing his attacker to read his personal impact statement which revealed he became suicidal and was alcohol dependant in his teens.
He said: ‘The biggest consequence has been my emotional development.
‘To this day I can remember feeling an overwhelming sense of embarrassment and shame.
‘I turned to alcohol to block out my emotions.
‘It affected my education, career, personal relationships and at times caused havoc in my personal life.
‘Upon hearing that Tony had pleaded guilty I felt vindicated and feel I’ve been released from something that’s had a hold of me over the years.
‘I know he’s responsible for a great deal of how my life has turned out.’
Keith Edwards, defending, said the former bishop deeply regrets his behaviour and feels genuine remorse.
He said: ‘He understands the wrongdoing of what he did all those years ago.’
Swansea Crown Court heard Pierce has heart and eyesight problems and ‘may spend the rest of his life behind bars’ because of his failing health.
Pierce showed no emotion as Judge Catherine Richards jailed him for four years and one month.
She told him: ‘You abused the trust of one of the children in your parish
‘You had been in his life since you christened him – you were not just a vicar to that family but also a trusted friend.
‘You should have shown care compassion for children, instead you started to groom him, bringing sexual topics into the conversation. You were a man in your late forties, he was only 14 years of age.’
Outside court the victim said the length of the jail term was ‘a result’ and he was happy with the sentence.
Police were informed after the victim reported the abuse to Church of Wales safeguarding officers in 2023 and he was arrested.
After he pleaded guilty it emerged that another allegation of sexual abuse involving a second victim – also believed to have been aged under 18 – was disclosed to the Church in Wales in 1993.
However the accusation, which dated from 1990, was not passed to police until 2010 – by which time the accuser had died.
The Church in Wales has apologised to the victim in the current case and said Pierce could now be stripped of Holy Orders.
Its safeguarding committee has commissioned an independent external review into the way it handled the second allegation.
The case comes after Justin Welby dramatically resigned as Archbishop of Canterbury last November, admitting he felt ‘shame’ over the way victims of the Church’s most prolific child abuser were let down.
Dr Welby said he was quitting after a damning report found his failure to act meant that ‘abhorrent’ serial abuser John Smyth was never brought to justice.
In January the Bishop of Liverpool was forced resign after two women made allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
Two women separately made allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment against Bishop Perumbalath, including one Church of England bishop.
He was interviewed by police over one of the claims, but no further action was taken.
Dr Perumbalath denies the allegations, stating he has been subject to a ‘trial by media’ that ‘made my position untenable’ – and said he would step back from ministry immediately to avoid becoming a ‘distraction’.
Yet to the fury of sexual abuse survivors, the Church of England’s ruling body last month voted to reject full independent safeguarding despite the damaging scandals.
Members of the General Synod chose not to adopt a new safeguarding model heavily favoured by victims, who described the move as a ‘punch in the gut’.
Following shamed Pierce’s guilty pleas, the Church in Wales said it was ‘is appalled at the offences which have been revealed in this case and expresses its deepest sympathy with the victim for the abuse they have suffered’.
Rev John Lomas, the current Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, described it as a ‘wicked crime’ and a ‘gross betrayal of trust.’
In a letter to the diocese, he said: ‘We are perhaps beyond the stage of expressing shock when we discover a person in a position of trust has used that position to sexually abuse a vulnerable person.
‘It feels at the moment that you can hardly read, hear or watch the news without learning of the latest incident.
‘But I know this particular case will be deeply shocking to so many of you. This isn’t a person you’ve read about or seen on TV.
‘Tony Pierce was your parish priest, your Archdeacon, your Bishop.’
The Church in Wales has defended the probe into how allegations against Pierce were handled, saying no members of the clergy are involved and denying ‘sweeping anything under the carpet’.
Its denial came after child abuse lawyer David Greenwood criticised how the Church had selected its own reviewer.
He told the BBC: ‘Unless the process is absolutely right, then there’ll still be a lingering doubt that things have been hushed up or swept under a carpet.’
Meanwhile Wales’ children’s commissioner, Rocio Cifuentes, said it was a ‘significant concern’ that the nation had no independent body that oversaw safeguarding at religious institutions.
Today Monique McKevitt, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘This was a gross abuse of trust by a vicar.
‘Anthony Pierce was a man entrusted to preside over christenings, funerals, weddings and prayers.
‘Yet he opportunistically preyed on a young boy who would simply come to his church in the hope that he could practice on the piano or Church organ.
‘The victim, then a child, was subjected to sexual assaults by Pierce and the trauma of what happened has lived with him for many years.
‘I hope this prosecution provides some comfort to the victim and encourages others who have been subjected to sexual abuse to come forward in the knowledge that they will be listened to.’
In 2002, Pierce was made a commander of the order of St John, and in 2010 a knight of the order of St John to recognise ‘exceptional’ charitable service.
St John’s Ambulance say Pierce is now no longer a member of the order.