Woodley vicar cleared of child sex and cruelty offences
- Published
Reverend Edilberto Marquez-Picon was suspended from St John the Evangelist Church in Woodley in September 2019
A vicar accused of child sex and cruelty offences has been cleared.
Reverend Edilberto Marquez-Picon, 65, was cleared by a jury of four counts of indecent assault on a girl and one of child cruelty, at Oxford Crown Court.
Mr Marquez-Picon was suspended by the Diocese of Oxford when the allegations, dating back to the 1980s and 90s in Oxford, surfaced.
He has been suspended from working at St John the Evangelist Church in Woodley since September 2019.
Mr Marquez-Picon's character witnesses included the former Archdeacon of Berkshire, Norman Russell.
Mr Russell said he "genuinely respected" Mr Marquez-Picon, who is originally from Peru.
Others said Mr Marquez-Picon, of Woodley, is a "gentle, kind, humble man, who puts others before himself".
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