Retired priest found guilty of string of gay sex attacks

The right-hand man of pervert bishop Peter Ball has been found guilty of a string of gay attacks dating back to the 1970s.

Retired priest Vickery House, 69, was convicted at the Old Bailey of five counts of indecent assault on males - with one as young as 14 - over a period of 16 years. He was cleared on three further counts.

During much of that time, House was vicar in Berwick, East Sussex, and worked under Ball - who earlier this month was jailed for 32 months after he admitted molesting young men between 1977 and 1992.

The pair targeted young men and aspiring priests through a Church of England scheme called Give A Year For Christ with four members abused by both men, it can now be reported.

The scandal has been mired in accusations of an Establishment cover-up with former Bishop of Lewes and Gloucester Ball, 83, counting a member of the Royal Family among those who wrote letters of support before he was let off with a caution in 1993.

In September, after a last ditch attempt to get his case thrown out failed, Ball pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office and two counts of indecent assault on young men in their teens.