Paedophile priest jailed

Father Eric Taylor: abused boys as young as six

A Roman Catholic priest has been jailed for seven years for sexually abusing boys at an orphanage.

The offences took place at the Father Hudson Society's home in Warwickshire, between 1957 and 1965. Some of the boys were as young as six.

Father Eric Taylor, 78, was convicted at Warwick Crown Court on 16 charges of indecent assault and two more serious charges on boys at the Father Hudson's home in Coleshill, Warwickshire.

The court was told Taylor, now of Aston-By-Stone, Staffordshire, abused boys and then stood by as they were beaten by nuns for complaining about their ordeals.

Taylor, who denied all the charges, was found not guilty of a further three charges.

He was jailed for seven years on the two most serious offences and five years for indecent assault. The sentences will run alongside each other.

A victim of Taylor's abuse says the home was his "harem"

After the jury returned their verdicts, the court was told how Taylor had previous convictions for indecent assault.

Taylor had abused four boys at his vicarage in Worcestershire in 1975.

One of the jurors broke down as the priest was convicted, the judge telling him he was a disgrace to his cloth and the church he proclaimed.

"Your victims were not only young but they were helpless, you were the nearest thing they had to a father figure," he added.

Throughout his trial, middle-aged men gave graphic evidence of what Taylor had done to them.

It has emerged that Taylor had committed a previous offence when he was a parish priest

Some likened the regime to a concentration camp in which they were known by number rather than name.

One said: "This is a victory for justice. The forces of good will always catch up with him."

Another told the BBC about a reign of terror at the home, which he called Taylor's "harem".

However, some were not around to see Taylor sent down, having committed suicide because they could not live with what the priest had done to them.