A paedophile Catholic priest who went partially naked under his cassock while grooming and sexually abusing two teenage boys, was jailed for four years today.
After befriending their families, Father William John Hofton, a qualified teacher and former school governor, showered his impressionable victims with gifts, took them on trips, and lavished them with praise.
The 49-year-old repeatedly abused one 15-year-old boy inside the church, as well as in the boy’s home and the showers of his own lodgings, before turning his attention to the younger boy, London’s Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court heard.
In what is the latest child abuse scandal to engulf the Roman Catholic Church, Hofton admitted seven counts of gross indecency and nine of indecent assault between September 1991 and December 1993 when he was working at a church in Middlesex.
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The jury was not told that Hofton had already been investigated by the church authorities two years ago, after allegedly abusing a 17-year-old boy in 1986 while training to be a priest.
In April 2002, the first victim confronted his abuser, prompting Hofton to send him an e-mail apologising and pleading for forgiveness.
Hofton confessed the incident to his superiors, but failed to tell the senior clergy investigating the allegation about his attacks on the younger boys in the early 1990s.
He was assessed as being at low risk of reoffending, and assigned to another church in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire - attached to a school.
At the time, senior Roman Catholic clergy vigorously defended the church’s decision to give Hofton a second chance, allowing him to continue with his ministry. But the trust which the church had reposed in him turned out to be misplaced when the two further victims came forward.
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Hofton was still working as a priest when he was arrested in December for abusing the brothers, both now adults and described as “leading figures in the community”.
He fought back tears as Judge Fabyan Evans told him that nothing but a “substantial” prison sentence could be passed in his case.
“The offences you committed occurred when you were in a position of trust, not only to your church but also to the family of the boys entrusted to your care,” said the judge.
“You indulged in grooming which could have led to far greater offences being committed on the younger victim than in fact occurred.
“It was extensive and persistent conduct that occurred with great regularity, and it comes as no surprise to me to read the statements of both victims - who are trying to come to terms with what happened - that they came to realise that your conduct had robbed them of part of their adolescence. That can never be replaced.”
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In addition, their ordeals had left them “experiencing difficulties in their attitudes to their personal relationships”.
He said that the disgraced priest, who had earlier sobbed loudly as his behaviour was described, had expressed remorse and had made an early confession of guilt.
“Furthermore, those who testified to your character and commitment clearly continue to have regard for you. But it must be a hollow one,” the judge added, before banning him from any future unsupervised access to anyone under 18.
Hofton, bearded and bespectacled, who now faces being defrocked, was led from the dock to begin his new life behind bars.
He was one of 62 Catholic clergy or church workers reported to the police last year after allegations of child abuse. Seven priests were convicted of child abuse last year. A further 51 reports of “inappropriate behaviour” were dealt with internally by the Church after consultation with child protection teams.
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Stephen Wall, the principal adviser to the Archbishop of Westminster, said: “Clearly in the light of what we know now we obviously regret allowing Father Hofton to continue in a parish.
“In 2002 when the first allegation was made he didn’t deny it but said it was a one-off and asked for forgiveness. He was sent for assessment to the independent Wolvercote centre, which rated him as low risk.
“He was returned to his duties as a parish priest under conditions that he was not alone in the presbytery, that he didn’t receive visitors under the age of 21 alone and that he did not visit the school alone, and, so far as we know, nothing untoward happened during that period.
“But clearly it would have been much better if we had been in a position to stop him working as a priest in 2002.”
The Catholic Diocese of Westminster issued a statement, saying that it was profoundly sorry for Hofton’s crimes.
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“We apologise to the victims of this abuse, and ask for their forgiveness,” said the statement.
“Sexual abuse is the opposite of everything for which we stand as Christians. We have co-operated wholeheartedly with the police in their investigations. We will always do everything possible to ensure that justice is done in every case where allegations of abuse are made.”
The Church encouraged anyone who had suffered abuse at the hands of clergy to contact the Child Protection Co-ordinator in their local diocese.