‘My brother never saw justice because of cover-up by Church’
THE family of a victim of Clive McCleester claim a Church of England “cover-up” helped the paedophile verger evade justice.
David Boxall was attacked as a 13-year-old at Tylney Hall in the 1960s but died in 2020 before he could see his abuser jailed.
His family says David struggled with reporting what happened due to the powerful organisations McCleester was connected to.
The youngster was sent to Tylney on the advice of social services. The Brent Councilowned boarding school for “maladjusted” boys employed McCleester as a welfare officer.
His sister Jane Potts claims her brother was let down by social services and the Church.
She said: “The Church should have spoken to him and got him to own up to this. They’ve got responsibility for covering it up.”
Yesterday the Met Police insisted officials from Southwark Cathedral cooperated with its probe. Following McCleester’s guilty plea they apologised.
Trauma
However Jane said McCleester continued to be employed by the Church even after abuse allegations first surfaced.
McCleester remained caretaker of the Queen’s church in 2003 when cleared of molesting another Southwark choir boy.
And he was living grandly in The Hospital of St Cross and
Almshouse of Noble Poverty in Winchester, Hants.
Jane said she has lost her faith after seeing how the Church has behaved to child abuse victims.
David lost his job and marriage and developed mental health problems as he struggled to live with his childhood trauma but finally confided in a therapist.
However it took a fresh allegation from a different choirboy at Southwark Cathedral against McCleester to persuade David to tell the police.
In 2020, David died. His recorded video evidence proved crucial in securing the conviction.
Detectives want other victims to make contact.
The Church has issued “a full and unreserved apology to all those affected”.