Pervert vicar who was convicted of sexually abusing a 15-year-old was offered honours by the Queen

The Queen honoured a pervert vicar who had been convicted of abusing a child by offering him a place in her Chapel Royal, it has been revealed.

Reverend Mark Kiddle was given a 15-month suspended sentence in 1985 after admitting two offences of indecent assault.

His victim claimed he abused him up to twenty times. 

But instead of being defrocked for abusing the 15-year-old boy he was instead moved to another parish.

Just eight years later, in 1993, Kiddle was promoted by the Queen to be part of her Chapel Royal.

A public notice in the London Gazette announced: ‘The Queen has been graciously pleased to appoint the Reverend Mark Brydges Kiddle, to be a Deputy Priest in Ordinary to Her Majesty.’

Now, for the first time, the vicar’s victim has spoken out about the culture of ‘protecting and promoting’ convicted child abusers in the church. 

Mark Kiddle was handed a suspended sentence for the abuse of a 15-year-old boy but was later given an honour by the Queen

The man, now in his 50s, said: ‘I think the Queen would be disgusted to find out about his past.’

‘The church has protected the guilty and let the innocent be abused. I’m angry that the person who did this to me was just moved to another diocese.

‘He was protected and promoted and I don’t think the church even now acts equitably.’

The abuse happened when Kiddle was vicar at St Andrew’s in Kirton-in-Lindsey in Lincolnshire.

His victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, says he was groomed by Kiddle who molested him ’18-20 times over a two-year period’ including when he was at his most vulnerable, following the death of a close family member.

He said: ‘I suppose when I was younger I was naïve, I thought he was just being kind.

‘He would take me on trips, he would give me alcohol and it got to the stage where I would stay over at the vicarage quite regularly.

‘We always slept in the same room and he would always sleep naked. It was a big old building and he said it was haunted but that ghosts couldn’t see you if you had nothing on.

‘I can’t say exactly when the abuse started. I completely blocked it out. I never told anyone, not even my parents.’

The abuse continued for two years but eventually a parishioner who suspected Kiddle of inappropriate behaviour tipped off police.

He was prosecuted at Grimsby Crown Court and in his defence the then Bishop of Lincoln, Simon Phipps, described Kiddle in court as an ‘extremely diligent, imaginative and energetic priest’.

Kiddle received two 15-month sentences to run concurrently, suspended for two years and was moved to another parish.

He was eventually posted to St Clement’s Church, Eastcheap in the City of London.

The 84-year-old, who is now retired from the church, is understood to have later declined the Queen’s honorary role in the Chapel Royal

His victim has launched legal action against the Church of England over the abuse he suffered.

The abuse happened when Kiddle was vicar at St Andrew's in Kirton-in-Lindsey (pictured) 

The abuse happened when Kiddle was vicar at St Andrew’s in Kirton-in-Lindsey (pictured) 

His solicitor, Richard Scorer, at Slater and Gordon, said: ‘Kiddle waged a calculated campaign of abuse against a vulnerable young boy and even exploited tragic family circumstances to his own advantage so he could continue to satiate his own sick desires.

‘It is reprehensible that someone who was convicted of such a crime should be allowed to continue working in the church and in a role which presumably gave him unfettered access to other youngsters.’

A spokesman for the Diocese of London said Kiddle was not paid by the Church of England and had a limited at two churches.

He said: ‘From 2002, he was barred from all ministry. Under today’s procedures, anyone convicted of such offence would immediately be removed from their role and barred from ministry.

‘The Church has made significant changes in its approach to safeguarding since the 1980s, but we recognise that more needs to be done to ensure a safe culture, where abuse has no place, and where survivors of abuse can flourish.’

A Palace spokesperson said Kiddle never took up the honorary position and was never active in the Royal household.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk