Former bishop jailed for more than four years for sexually abusing boy
Anthony Pierce admitted the abuse, which took place in the late 1980s, at a hearing in February.
A former bishop who sexually abused a boy he christened as a baby has been jailed for four years and one month.
Anthony Pierce, 84, was bishop of Swansea and Brecon between 1999 and 2008, though the offences date from the late 1980s when he was a parish priest in West Cross, Swansea.
Swansea Crown Court heard Pierce sexually abused a boy, then between 14 and 15 years old, when he was aged in his late 40s.
The victim disclosed what had happened to a Church in Wales safeguarding officer in 2023 and a police investigation was launched.
It later emerged that a separate allegation of sexual abuse by Pierce had been reported to senior figures in the church in 1993 but was only reported to police in 2010, by which time the victim had died.
Pierce pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent assault on a male child under the age of 16 during a hearing at Swansea Crown Court in February.
Judge Catherine Richards jailed him for four years and one month at the same court on Wednesday morning.
The judge told Pierce that he was “trusted and respected” as a vicar by the parishioners of the church.
“That trust was misplaced. You abused one of the children of your parish. You had been involved in his life since you christened him,” she said.
“Any parent or adult at that time would understandably have trusted that their child was safe with you and you would act in accordance with your professed Christian values.
“Instead, you began to groom him.”
The judge said Pierce had “exploited” his position and his age, as the victim was 14 years old when the abuse started and Pierce was aged in his late 40s.
She added: “There will be many people who turned to you for spiritual guidance and support in this community who will inevitably feel let down and betrayed that a man in your position could behave in such a hypocritical way and in breach of the trust invested in you by the community.”
The judge described how Pierce had gone on to be appointed as a bishop, without any consequence for his offending, while his victim was left dealing with the devastating aftermath of what happened to him.
She told Pierce: “There is only one person who should have shame for what took place and that is you.”
Pierce will be registered as a sex offender indefinitely and barred from working or volunteering with children or vulnerable adults.
Prosecuting, Dean Pulling described how the abuse took place in the vicarage when Pierce was alone with the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
On one occasion, Mr Pulling said Pierce asked the victim: “I assume you’re producing sperm now?”
Referring to the victim, Mr Pulling told the court: “He is clear that he consented to none of the sexual activity.
“He said he felt repelled by what the defendant did to him.”
In a police interview, Pierce told police he had “no attraction towards children”, Mr Pulling added.
The victim read a statement to the court detailing the abuse and the devastating impact of it upon him.
“I can remember feeling an overwhelming sense of embarrassment and shame,” he told the court.
“I couldn’t find the courage to say no.”
He said he had become dependant on alcohol from a teenager and had been left unable to form relationships.
The victim said he felt “vindicated” by Pierce’s guilty pleas.
“I feel released from something that has had a hold on me for all these years,” he added.
Heath Edwards, representing Pierce, who is now in failing health, said he “deeply regrets the behaviour”.
“There is every risk that this is a defendant who spends the rest of his life serving a custodial sentence,” he added.
The Church in Wales previously confirmed that Pierce will be referred to its disciplinary tribunal.
Following his guilty pleas, the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the Right Reverend John Lomas, said he would be asking the tribunal to consider deposing Pierce from Holy Orders – the most severe sanction available.
An independent external review into the allegations against Pierce in the 1990s has been commissioned by the church.
In a statement issued after the case, a spokesperson for the Church in Wales said: “The sentence which has been handed down reflects the shocking nature of these offences and the gross breach of trust which they represent.
“Anthony Pierce has abused his position, disgraced his church and, worst of all, has inflicted appalling and lasting trauma on his victim.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim in this case, who has shown immense courage in reporting what are deeply painful experiences. We offer him the most heartfelt apology for what he has had to endure.”
The spokesperson added: “We feel the most profound shame at the dreadful offences which have resulted in today’s court case, but we hope the swift and decisive way with which the case was handled when it was reported in 2023, and the fact that we have proactively and disclosed the issues relating to the 1993 report, will give confidence that we are determined to do everything possible to ensure the church is safe, that abuse is discovered and dealt with and that victims are respected and supported.”
Monique McKevitt, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was a gross abuse of trust by a vicar.
“Anthony Pierce was a man entrusted to preside over christenings, funerals, weddings and prayers. Yet he opportunistically preyed on a young boy.”
Detective Inspector Sharon Gill-Lewis, of South Wales Police, added: “I commend the bravery of the victim in reporting Anthony Pierce’s actions, which was instrumental in helping bring him to justice.”
