Vicar abused me 350 times but he killed himself before I could get justice.. more victims should come forward

FORMER ALTAR BOY ON CHURCH OF ENGLAND ANGUISH

VILE vicar Terence King performed a wedding ceremony within minutes of abusing an altar boy in his vestry.

Young Steve Rowell watched in horror as his abuser spoke to the bride and groom about love, honesty and faithfulness.

Traumatised Steve suffered at the hands of pervert priest King more than 350 times.

Today he reveals his six-year ordeal and tells how he demanded to meet Church leaders to bring about change.

And a top bishop has now urged fellow abuse survivors to step forward.

Steve was assaulted by King from the age of 11 but the predator cheated justice by killing himself after being quizzed by police.

His case prompted 12 others to reveal they too had been targeted by King. And, like Steve, they could have been spared their trauma if the Church had acted sooner.

Steve, 40, won a six-figure payout after it emerged King was earlier probed over claims of abusing a young girl parishioner.

Church chiefs took no action over that claim, in the 1980s, and King was free to target boys like Steve.

The dad of three said: “I think abuse in the Church of England could be on the same scale as the Catholic Church. Who knows how many more victims Rev King had?

“I was angry and upset when I discovered the allegations that he’d abused a girl before me. It was obviously swept under the carpet.

COVER-UPS

“How many other priests were allowed to work on when accused of abusing children?

“I felt lost for years and turned to drink. There were a lot of cover-ups but I’m in a good place now and want to help others.”

The C of E said that in 2016 it was dealing with more than 3,300 reports of abuse in its parishes, the vast majority relating to “children, young people and vulnerable adults”.

Almost one in five involved clergy and other officials, with the rest relating to church volunteers from within the congregation.

Earlier this year Steve met with the C of E’s head of safeguarding, Bishop Peter Hancock, to appeal for abuse allegations to be treated more seriously.

Today, in a message to Sunday Mirror readers, Bishop Hancock said he hoped Steve’s case would “encourage other people to come forward in the knowledge we will take all such concerns seriously”.

An inquiry last year revealed C of E chiefs probed 40,000 files containing allegations dating back to the 1950s – but took action on just 13. The investigation, led by former Barnardo’s chief Roger Singleton, concluded officials had “downplayed” the problem.

Bishop Hancock said he was confident the Church was improving its processes by having dedicated safeguarding professionals at national and diocesan level.

He admitted: “The Church recognises that it has not always responded positively to survivors and I remain deeply sorry for this.”

Steve added: “I don’t think the Church knew what to expect when they met me. They were expecting a victim.

“That’s not what I am any more. The Church told me there are new cases with children now. I want to make it more difficult for abuse to

take place by talking about it. The Church needs to understand how big this

is.”

Steve was a shy child who struggled to make friends when he met King through a Scouts group at St Mary the Virgin Church in Woodkirk, near Leeds. He became a choirboy and altar boy. Steve, who now lives in Norfolk, said: “It started with him asking me to go into the bathroom to talk about sex education. He showed me naked pictures and it escalated from there. He saw that I’d struggled with interacting with people and making friends, so he jumped on that.

“He became a father figure. He’d do things to me in the vestry, while the church was full waiting for a wedding.

“I’d have to come out of there, pretend everything was normal, and watch him conduct a wedding ceremony.

“He infiltrated our lives. He used to visit our house a lot, and spend time with my mum and dad. He said he would tell my dad I was gay if I told my parents what was happening and that terrified me.

“I found women attractive but I was so confused I wondered if I was gay. I didn’t have a girlfriend until I was 21.”

Business manager Steve’s ordeal only

stopped when he moved away for university. But he was plunged back into torment when King tracked him down years later and asked to meet.

In 2002, he finally confided in his then girlfriend and parents – and went to police.

He went on: “I hid it for years but when he started contacting me again it triggered me.

ARRESTED

“I was angry, breaking things in the house, generally not being a nice person because I’d buried it all.

“My parents struggled to come to terms with it because they thought they’d failed.

“I was interviewed by police for hours. I described his house right down to the fine details of the colours of the teddy bears on the bed.”

King, 69, denied the allegations. But he was arrested and police told Steve that the abuser would be taken to court.

However, before he could be charged, the pervert priest hanged himself at home in York.

Coverage of the reverend’s death in the local paper saw 10 more victims contact police. Steve said: “I came so close to some sense of closure but then I just felt lost. I contacted the Church but was told, ‘You can’t prove it happened. As far as we’re concerned, it’s done with’.

“I struggled to hold down a job, I was drinking a lot.

“I’d be driving to work and I’d have a panic attack and I’d have to turn back. It affected personal relationships too. Sexual relationships were just weird.”

Steve only sought help in 2012, when he met his now wife Jemma. She encouraged him to get counselling and to contact the Church again.

Incredibly, Church of England officials encouraged him to sue.

Steve added: “I emailed the Church and explained I hadn’t had closure because my abuser killed himself.

“I decided I wasn’t going to give up, I was going to get justice. It wasn’t about money, it was about someone acknowledging what had happened. “For the first time, I felt listened to. “The Church contacted the police and accepted it had happened. They encouraged me to make a claim against them.”

But it meant Steve had to reveal his torment again in “really distressing” sessions with a psychologist.

The Church eventually settled out of court in 2015.

Steve spent a huge chunk of his settlement on therapy and self-help courses, which have reduced his anger. Last night his lawyer Dino Nocivelli, of Bolt Burdon Kemp, said: “The civil case helped to bring some closure.

“The Church of England need to address their failings in not only preventing child abuse within their ranks but also being transparent and fair when dealing with survivors who have disclosed abuse.”

The Church of England appointed a National Safeguarding Team in 2015, two years after the General Synod apologised to victims.

One recent compensation payment amounted to £15,000. Matching that in every case facing the Church would cost almost £50million.

geraldine.mckelvie@mirror.co.uk

I suffered at his hands after earlier abuse was sweptunder the carpet

STEVE ROWELL VICTIM OF PAEDOPHILE PRIEST

INNOCENCESteve at 10, before ordeal began