Ex-priest is jailed over sex attacks on young girl
A FORMER Catholic priest has been jailed for grooming an underage girl for sex attacks after befriending her family.
Vincent Whelan, 71, got nine months for abuse that Judge Patrick Field said was “seared” on her memory.
He plied the girl, who was under 16, with alcohol and complimented her looks to gain her trust.
Whelan, then parish priest at St Peter’s church in Wythenshawe, Manchester, was 41 when he attacked her in the 80s.
She said she suffered assaults for a year but he convinced her not to tell anyone about it because he would lose his job.
She only got the courage to go to police in 2017.
Whelan, of Wirral, was found guilty of indecent assault at Manchester Crown Court on Friday.
Judge Field told him: “While a parish priest, you ambushed her and forced yourself upon her, kissing her on the mouth.
“She recalled your teeth clattering with hers and horror she experienced.
“This was a shocking experience for a young child and will have been seared on her memory.”