A BBC investigation has revealed that two former clergymen of the Church in Wales are set to be investigated due to historical sexual abuse allegations.
One of the two is the former bishop of Swansea and Brecon, Anthony Pierce. Pierce is currently serving a four year and one month prison sentence after pleading guilty earlier this year to five counts of indecent assault on a child under the age of 16.
His crimes occurred during his time as a parish priest in the late 1980s. Pierce’s legal representative said that he “deeply regrets” what he did, while the church itself said it felt “the most profound shame at the dreadful offences”.
Now, however it appears that there may have been more offences.
Several men have told the BBC that Pierce also acted in sexually inappropriate ways with them. The BBC also spoke to a woman who claimed that she was sexually assaulted by David Gedge, the choirmaster at Brecon Cathedral.
The woman says she reported the abuse two years after the incident, hoping to protect other members of the choir. The bishop at that time was Anthony Pierce and it is alleged that no action was taken.
Gedge died in 2016 and Pierce, who is well into his eighties, may well die behind bars.
The Church in Wales is investigating its response into the cases of Pierce and Gedge. Concerns were raised about Pierce as early as 1986, however this did not stop his abuse at the time and nor did it prevent him becoming a bishop in 1999.
Police are examining the new allegations about Pierce and are also looking at the case of a “former vicar” in the Church in Wales.
The Church in Wales has already been subject to two inquiries into its handling of safeguarding and abuse issues, however a former priest has now written to the Welsh Assembly, asking it to conduct an independent inquiry.
