Former Ampleforth College monk sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing three boys
A former monk at the Catholic boarding school Ampleforth College has been sentenced to twenty years in prison for sexually abusing three boys who were all under the age of 13.
Peter Turner, 80, from Redcar, admitted charges of indecent assault, buggery and gross indecency against three boys when he appeared at York Crown Court.
Turner, who was previously known as Father Gregory Carroll, committed the offences more than 20 years ago while working at the college and later at a parish in Workington in Cumbria.
He was due to go on trial but entered guilty pleas to 14 charges on Tuesday. Today he was sentenced to 20 months and 10 months in prison.
One of the victims of the paedophile monk said the abuse he suffered at his hands is just as likely to kill him as disease or old age.
The man, who was aged between 10 and 12 when he was sexually abused, said he had not slept through the night once in the 25 years since he was attacked.
Praised for his bravery as he read his victim impact statement in York Crown Court, he said: "Gregory Carroll, Peter Turner, whoever you are or pretend to be, to me, you a priest, a teacher, a rapist, and a paedophile."
The court heard that the first boy was aged between 10 and 12 when Turner committed indecent assault and buggery against him between September 1984 and January 1987 while he was at Ampleforth.
Turner was jailed for four years in September 2005 after he admitted offences against 10 pupils at the school between 1979 and 1987. The sentence was later reduced by 12 months.
A spokesperson for Ampleforth College said the school was "devastated that a member of the monastic community can have abused our pupils in this way."
However, it was revealed in court that Turner was still living in a house owned by the Ampleforth Abbey Trust until just a few days ago.
In a statement, Ampleforth said: "Peter Turner was renting a property that belonged to the Ampleforth Abbey Trust.
"This arrangement was made in conjunction and consultation with the local statutory authorities, including the police and safeguarding bodies. The then Abbot of Ampleforth Abbey took the decision to send him to Workington."
Sentencing Turner, Judge Sean Morris said the former monk had brought "evil into this world."
Turner was sent to work in a parish in Workington in 1987 after confessing to church authorities.
His second victim was nine or 10 when he indecently assaulted him between October 1987 and December 1988. The third was aged between 10 and 12 when Turner committed gross indecency and indecent assault against him between June 1987 and June 1990 in Workington.
He was recalled from the parish and confined to the monastery at Ampleforth after the 2001 publication of the Nolan Report on the problem of clerical child abuse.
Detective sergeant Graeme Bevington said Peter Turner was "clearly a very deprived individual."
A spokesperson for Ampleforth College said: