A Barbadian priest in England has been removed as rector and banned from ministry for life after admitting to sexually abusing a number of women.
Reverend David Tudor, former rector of Canvey Island in the Diocese of Chelmsford, Essex, was sacked by the Bishop of Southwark’s Disciplinary Tribunal, following a hearing on October 28 and 29.
Tudor, who was team rector for the Parish of Canvey in Essex, had been suspended for the last five years.
At least seven women have said that he abused them, with one receiving six-figure compensation from the church in 2019.
David McClenaghan, a partner at Bolt Burdon Kemp solicitors who brought the claim on behalf
of the woman and who has supported other survivors of clerical abuse, said: “One of the most surprising aspects of this case was that they suspended him on full pay and over a period of time, funded his accommodation and lifestyle.”
Tudor worked for the Church of England for over 46 years in London, Surrey and Essex, rising from curate to honorary canon. He gained a reputation for filling churches with his charismatic preaching and was well known in the Barbadian community, especially during Independence services across the United Kingdom. He was the recipient of a 2016 Jubilee Award.
Tudor was part of Springer Memorial School’s 60th anniversary gala, held in October at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill under the big tent, he being the son of its first principal the late Pamela Tudor, and the late Canon Harold Tudor.
The prohibition followed a complete admission of guilt to disclosures of serious sexual abuse that were brought as a disciplinary complaint. These allegations related to the time when he was a priest in the Diocese of Southwark and include serious sexual abuse involving a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old.
The BBC reported that the panel heard he formed sexual relationships with the two girls, identified as X and Y, between 1982 and 1989, while chaplain at St Bede’s School in Redhill, Surrey. He later became curate of St Philip’s Church in Reigate. In a separate case, Tudor admitted having sex with a girl but insisted she was 16.
The tribunal heard how the former vicar tried to keep the relationship with ‘X’ – which started when she was 15 – a secret, demanding she destroy her diaries.
Tudor said he had no recollection of the incidents with the two girls but accepted that sexual acts took place between himself and Y, and did not challenge X’s account of what happened. He offered a full apology
to both X and Y.
The tribunal determined that his behaviour was “an abuse of trust” which amounted to “grooming”.
A spokesman for Surrey police said: “The case against a 66-year-old man from Canvey, who was arrested in April 2019 on suspicion of indecent assault, has now been closed. He was arrested after we received a report of historic offences alleged to have taken place in Redhill in 1983.”
The BBC reported that the tribunal heard Tudor was also accused but acquitted of indecent assault against a 16-year-old girl – identified as Z – in January 1988.
He was sentenced to six months in prison in 1988 for indecent assault in relation to three other complainants, but this conviction was later quashed by the Court of Appeal.
After serving a five-year suspension, he returned to ministry in the 1990s.
Until the Bishop of Chelmsford suspended him in April 2019, Tudor was based at St Nicholas Church in the Anglican Parish Church of Canvey Island, where he was appointed rector of Canvey in 2006.
In 2008, he was appointed area dean of Hadleigh.
Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, is facing calls to resign over his handling of the matter. This
comes as he is due to take temporary charge of the Church of England in the coming days.
A BBC investigation charged that Cottrell let Tudor remain in his post in the diocese despite knowing he had been barred by the church from being alone with children and had paid compensation to a sexual abuse victim.
However, a spokesperson for Cottrell said he had been in an “invidious situation” and did not have the legal power to sack the priest.
The current bishops of Chelmsford and Southwark have acknowledged the hurt and harm caused, and have also announced that an independent Safeguarding Practice Review will now take place to ensure lessons are learnt from this case.
The calls for Archbishop Cottrell to resign come at a time of turmoil in the Church of England following
a damning report into how it covered up prolific abuse. A report led to the resignation of the church’s most senior figure, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
The BBC also revealed that Welby and a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord George Carey, were also involved in the Tudor case – Welby in 2018 and Lord Carey in 1993. (TR)
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