Priest alleges Doncaster bishop and other church officials 'failed to act' on rape claim

A priest has accused the Bishop of Doncaster and other church officials of failing to act on allegations that he was repeatedly raped by a vicar when he was 16-years-old.
A priest has accused the Bishop of Doncaster, Peter Burrows, and other church officials of failing to act on allegations that he was repeatedly raped by a vicar when he was 16-years-old.A priest has accused the Bishop of Doncaster, Peter Burrows, and other church officials of failing to act on allegations that he was repeatedly raped by a vicar when he was 16-years-old.
A priest has accused the Bishop of Doncaster, Peter Burrows, and other church officials of failing to act on allegations that he was repeatedly raped by a vicar when he was 16-years-old.

The victim says he made verbal allegations to the Right Reverend Peter Burrows, The Bishop of Doncaster, as well as the Right Reverend Stephen Croft, the former Bishop of Sheffield, and now Bishop of Oxford; and the Right Reverend Martyn Snow, a former Archdeacon of Sheffield and Rotherham, and now the Bishop of Leicester, between July 2012 and February 2013.

The priest has also alleged that the Archbishop of York John Sentamu and the Right Reverend Glyn Webster, the Bishop of Beverley, were also made aware when they were copied in to a letter sent to the Right Reverend Croft in June 2013.

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Responding to the allegation concerning Bishop of Doncaster, Peter Burrows, a spokesman for the Diocese of Sheffield said: "The Diocese of Sheffield takes the safeguarding and protection of children and vulnerable adults very seriously indeed. We are, of course, unable to comment on the detail of live investigations and complaints.

"However if this complaint goes forward, our bishops will make a full response to the various allegations made in due course.

"In the meantime we continue to hold all victims of sexual abuse and exploitation in our prayers.”

The priest said all five men were aware of his claims he had been repeatedly raped by a vicar in Bradford when he was 16 in 1984, but none of them acted.

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Police have confirmed they are investigating a report of a historical serious sexual offence which is said to have occurred in the Bradford area in the 1980s.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "A crime has been recorded and a 69-year-old man has been spoken to in connection with the enquiry."