Priest 'groomed' for abuse

Priest 'groomed' for abuse

Two men who are now priests claim Canon Davies had abused them

An Anglican priest, who claims to have been abused by a south Wales clergyman as a boy, has told a crown court jury that he was "groomed" by the older man.

The priest said he was forced to commit sex acts at the Cardiff home of Canon Lawrence Davies.

The priest, who cannot be named, was giving evidence at the trial of 62-year-old Canon Davies at Cardiff Crown Court.

The senior Church in Wales cleric, who now lives in Briton Ferry, south Wales, denies a total of 14 charges of serious sexual assault and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The Anglican priest said he was psychologically controlled by Canon Davies from an early age.

"It was not voluntary because of the years Davies had been grooming me," he said.

"Over a period of time he was controlling me - I was 12 when it started," he added.

'Puppet'

On Tuesday, the Anglican priest, who claims he was shown pornographic films by Canon Davies, said he was left feeling like "an empty shell" by the assaults.

The trial is being heard at Cardiff Crown Court

"These people grind you down and they make you feel worthless and of no value whatsoever," he said.

"You become nothing, you become an empty shell - you become a puppet," he added.

All the offences are said to have taken place over a 25-year period and two of the canon's alleged victims have gone on to become Anglican priests.

Under cross examination by Stephen Hopkins QC, defending, the unnamed priest agreed that he had been too frightened to make a complaint himself about Canon Davies and had at first instructed another priest to make a complaint on his behalf to the church.

On Monday, prosecuting counsel Christopher Vosper QC, told the hearing that Canon Davies had cultivated one boy's trust and then abused him in the vicarage and on parish trips.

Once that youth was at college, he claimed the vicar turned to a younger boy.

The trial continues.