Following on from our article this week looking at concerns surrounding sentencing for convicted paedophiles in child abuse cases, we received information highlighting the injustices of sentencing in this context.
Phil Johnson, a high profile campaigner and abuse survivor, who played an important role in bringing convicted paedophile Bishop Peter Ball to justice, very kindly sent us the statement he wrote in response to the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to accept Bishop Ball’s plea bargain. This effectively reduced his sentence.
Peter Ball, 83, who admitted offences against 18 teenagers and young men in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, is currently serving 32 months for misconduct in public office and 15 months for indecent assaults, to run concurrently. Also at odds with this sentence is the fact that Ball has been placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.
You can read Phil’s Statement below, or on the MACSAS website:
STATEMENT BY PHIL JOHNSON 8th SEPTEMBER 2015
I am one of the two individuals in the Bishop Peter Ball case who has not had a guilty plea entered in respect of the charges brought in this case.
I do not know who the other person is and to the best of my knowledge have never met them or spoken to them.
The only thing that we seem to have in common is that our allegations against Peter Ball relate to incidents when we were under the age of 16.
I first told the police about Peter Ballʼs involvement in the sexual abuse of boys and young men in 1996 and have been through 4 police investigations and 3 supposedly independent inquiries commissioned by the church over the last 19 years. Throughout this, Peter Ball has denied any wrong doing and the Church, including senior bishops, have until very recently tried to minimise and cover-up what has happened.
Bishop Peter received a police caution in 1993 for an act of gross indecency with a young man called Neil Todd. Neil was 17 at the time of the complaint but he had first become involved with Bishop Peter when he was 14. He had been living at Peter Ballʼs house in Littlington, Sussex prior to Ballʼs move to Gloucester in 1992 and had moved there with the Bishop. His grooming and abuse started at Littlington well before the move so was clearly under 16 when Ballʼs offending in relation to him started.
Neil was brave enough to report what had happened to him, going to the police in 1993, and it appears that around 5 others also made complaints against Peter Ball at that time. Neil, and the others did not get justice. Deals were done to ensure that the Bishop would not be prosecuted and there would be no embarrassing trial. He was allowed to accept a caution and resign – denying the victims justice and the chance to have their stories heard.
Over the years, Neil has been called a liar, I have been told by bishops that his allegations were false and that they had been withdrawn. The former Bishop of Chichester, Eric Kemp, who was Ballʼs immediate superior at the time of much of the offending in Sussex called Neil a ʻmischief makerʼ in his autobiography.
The Church and the establishment has colluded in covering-up Bishop Peter Ballʼs offending at the highest level over very many years. After resigning in disgrace, Peter Ball was supported by Prince Charles who he described as ʻa dear friendʼ and was gifted a house which it appears was purchased for him by the Duchy of Cornwall rather than being an established Duchy house as was stated in the press.
In 2012, Neil was contacted by the police again when the current case against Peter Ball was instigated. No safeguards were put in place by the police or the church despite requests by myself and warnings that he was distressed and needed support. Neil could not face going through another investigation and in July 2012 he took his own life.
We owe it to Neil that the whole truth of this story should be heard in public – His bravery and truth needs to be acknowledged. Throughout the 2 decades since the original disclosures none of the allegations against Peter Ball have been examined in court. None of the evidence has been tested or fully examined. At every turn there have been deals and cover-ups. The truth has been suppressed and Ballʼs offending behaviour and involvement with other abusers has been minimised.
Once again I find myself in a position where I do not get to tell my story in court, once again I feel that myself, Neil and the other complainant in this case are being silenced and denied justice. It is shameful that Peter Ball has denied these allegations for over twenty years only to admit to many of them today. For someone who is a priest, a bishop and has been held up as almost saintly over the years this is the ultimate hypocrisy.
I call upon the Church of England to strip the Right Reverend Peter Ball of his title and privileges and to re introduce the ability to ʻdisrobeʼ disgraced clergy. My evidence and that of the other complainant who was under 16 at the time was enough to convince the police that we were telling the truth, it was enough for the CPS to bring charges – It should be for a Jury to decide whether Peter Ball offended against boys who were under 16, not him and his lawyers doing deals in yet another attempt to belittle his behaviour and reduce his punishment.
This does not feel like justice.
Researching Reform 
Reblogged this on World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum..
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Reblogged this on National Inquiry into Organised, Orchestrated & Historic Child Sexual Abuse and commented:
Thank You, Natasha and Phil!!!
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The case about Melanie Shaw leaves me in anger .. I only have heard about her on here and now I feel she is undergoing terrible abuse.
Her Crime is that she reported a historic offence on herself .
and the powers that be deceided to send her to prison without charge. all details can be found on live through UK Column .com
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Phil, there will never be justice in the UK or in the courts for victims such as your self, and even if the family courts opened victims will still not get justice because it is the elite who run the country and courts and we the plebs as they call us are nothings only the sex toys, if there is a god and heavens doors I hope when I get there I can send all of the paedophiles to the gates of hell. What also needs addressing are the kids in care now who are being abused and have no voice as I well know to report a child being abused all contacts are stopped
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Sometimes those accused of abusing children are themselves “stitched up”.Marie Black accused of abusing her children was prevented from giving evidence herself,forbidden to call her chief witness (a professor ,expert on false memory syndrome),her counsel did not even question the children said to be accusing her of abuse,and the judge decided there had been abuse so he told the jury following his decision that they only had to decide who did it !
Irrespective of whether she was guilty or innocent the trial itself was manifestly unfair.
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We operate under a systemof law – legalise.
Law is not Justice.
We had a true Justice system- Brehon system before the Romans came with their laws and rules.
Most people do not realise that up to 2013 child molestation was a legal rite- right that men of god were entitled to.
The Bishop wears the Pagan God Dagon fish hat…showing the Christian religions have nothing to do with Christ consciousness.
How can there be Justice in courts when judges , barristers, etc attend the annual Red Roman Catholic Mass and even dress like the men of god, …death cult black robes, Red robes etc.
The odd victim might see justice, but that is a scam to lead the public to believe there is justice
The vast majority never see justice and suffer legal abuse syndrome- CPTSD from being called liars, trouble makers., disposable non human beings etc.
One judge shared with me that there is no such thing as Justice- its Just Us and its about who you know in the old boys club.
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Reblogged this on Musings of a Penpusher and commented:
With powerful friends in high places, even those guilty of the most heinous crimes can expect to be cleared of blame.
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This US case just about sums up the prevailing attitude in all courts here and over the pond.
theantimedia.com/hacker-16-years-rapist-wallks-free/
A hacker faces 16 years in prison while 2 rapists walk free! Not only had hacking revealed crucial evidence but also exposed a massive cover up by coaches, school administrators and even prosecutors who were implicated in the crime!
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The only purpose of law is to give the appearance of justice while allowing criminal behavior to be protected and promoted. There is no real law or justice. Only God can grant that and He has a few more things to prove, first.
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What an evil evil man . All paedophile are wicked but when it’s someone who is a bishop or priest preaching Christian values and hen doing the opposite in their own life it’s a double insult to victims and their congregation .anyone who is victim of sexual abuse needs the fullest psychological support in an investigation . Sadly the young man who committed suicide was driven to this action by the actions of Bishop ball and it should have added to his sentence .this story is often repeated I personally know two young men who took their own life in aftermath of abuse and others psychologically damaged with addiction problems etc and all caused by one perpetrator. Never underestimate the harm if sexual abuse . Make sentences reflect the true nature of what abuse does ….it destroys innocent people’s lives and because ball is 80 years or a highly regarded established figure it does not give him any right to a lesser sentence . The laws on sentencing need debate overhaul some standardisation not something imposed on the whim of a judge who may himself in fact be a paedophile and sympathetic .our children need protecting and no one should be above the law when it comes to this most abhorrent of all crimes .
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What an evil evil man . All paedophile are wicked but when it’s someone who is a bishop or priest preaching Christian values and hen doing the opposite in their own life it’s a double insult to victims and their congregation .anyone who is victim of sexual abuse needs the fullest psychological support in an investigation . Sadly the young man who committed suicide was driven to this action by the actions of Bishop ball and it should have added to his sentence .this story is often repeated I personally know two young men who took their own life in aftermath of abuse and others psychologically damaged with addiction problems etc and all caused by one perpetrator. Never underestimate the harm if sexual abuse . Make sentences reflect the true nature of what abuse does ….it destroys innocent people’s lives and because ball is 80 years or a highly regarded established figure it does not give him any right to a lesser sentence . The laws on sentencing need debate overhaul some standardisation not something imposed on the whim of a judge who may himself in fact be a paedophile and sympathetic .our children need protecting and no one should be above the law when it comes to this most abhorrent of all crimes .
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