WHEN John was abused as a teenager by a vicar who was giving him extra tuition, he didn’t tell his parents.

He didn’t want them to think they were to blame in any way, because they sent him to this Reverend’s house for lessons. Instead he went and reported it to the police with his girlfriend.

After telling the police officers some details of what had happened, he tried not to dwell on it and got on with his life. He didn’t even know if the evidence he’d given had been part of any court case.

Several decades later, when he retired from work, he started to wonder what had actually happened. By then his parents had died, having never known of the abuse. So he felt able to make enquiries.

After contacting the Crown Court and the local Constabulary, as well as various victim support agencies, he still hadn’t found all the information he needed. They put him in touch with our diocesan safeguarding team to see if they could help. And John has been very happy with the support given by safeguarding adviser Claire Lewis.

“I had more time in my retirement and I started digging into some records,” he said. “I discovered that the Reverend had been prosecuted in the 1980s. I also discovered the Church of England’s Redress Scheme for survivors.

“I contacted the court to see if I had been mentioned in his court case, but they had limited information. And I contacted the police, who were able to tell me that my perpetrator had died.

“And I went via victim support to an agency called First Light, who put me in touch with Claire from the diocese. One thing that was troubling me was there seemed to be no mention of me in connection with court proceedings, even though I had given a statement.

“I didn’t feel particularly vulnerable, but I had found it hard over many years to trust people who represent the Church. And I’m sure the abuse has affected relationships I’ve had over the past 40 years or so. Claire suggested that some counselling might help, and I’ve had six or seven sessions, which the diocese has paid for.

“It has been good to talk about these things and it has helped me to come to terms with what happened. Claire has been very supportive and organised a second set of sessions for me.

“People imagine the Redress Scheme is all about claiming compensation. That is part of it, but I wasn’t after financial compensation, just some kind of support from the Church. I’m glad that support has happened and is being recognised.”

*John’s name has been changed to preserve his anonymity.