Abuse reported to church 17 years before police told

February 27, 2025

Anthony Pierce, pictured in 2002, admitted five counts of historical indecent assaults earlier this month

By Emilia Belli

BBC News

An allegation of sexual abuse against a priest who went on to become a bishop appears to have been reported to "senior figures" in the church 17 years before it was passed to police.

The alleged victim of Anthony Pierce, believed to have been under 18 at the time, had died by the time the church contacted the police in 2010.

This meant the allegation of sexual assault made in 1993 could not be investigated. It only came to light after the former bishop of Swansea and Brecon admitted five counts of indecent assault on a child in another case.

The Church in Wales said an independent review had begun into the separate allegation of Pierce's "improper (and possible criminal) conduct".

South Wales Police said: "Sadly, in this specific case the victim had passed away in 2010 when allegations were made of abuse.

"Therefore we are not able to progress the investigation."

In the intervening 17 years since the allegation was made in 1993, Pierce had been elected and served as bishop of Swansea and Brecon for nine years from 1999.

In 2002, he was made a commander of the order of St John, and in 2010 a knight of the order of St John, an honour conferred to show "exceptional" charitable service in hospital settings and for those in need. St John's Ambulance have confirmed he is now no longer a member of the order.

He stood down as bishop of Swansea and Brecon in January 2008, aged 67.

He was awarded an honorary fellowship by Swansea University, which the institution has now said it will review.

The allegation of sexual abuse came to light after the former bishop admitted five historical counts of indecent assault on a male child under the age of 16 earlier this month at Swansea Crown Court.

Those assaults dated to between 1985 and 1990 when he was a parish priest in West Cross, Swansea. They were raised with a Church safeguarding officer in 2023 and subsequently investigated.

Pierce is being sentenced for those charges next month.

The Church in Wales said, after these offences came to light, "an internal investigation was initiated and found evidence suggesting that in 1993 a small number of members of the Church in Wales had been aware of a further allegation against Mr Pierce, but that this was not shared with Police until 2010".

The alleged assault dates from 1990 and appears to have been reported to "senior figures" in the church in 1993.

An independent review, which is expected to last three months and is being led by Gabrielle Higgins, will look at how the second allegation was handled by the church.

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Hana Dingle published this page in News Story of the Day 2025-02-27 10:38:09 -0600

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