Solihull vicar misled bishops over husband's sex abuse

Helen Greenham deliberately misled bishops over the extent of Peter Jenkins' abuse, the tribunal concluded

A former vicar deliberately misled Church of England bishops by failing to disclose her husband's past child sex abuse, a tribunal found.

The then Rev Helen Greenham knew husband Peter Jenkins had committed offences over two decades but in a meeting with a bishop only disclosed his relationship with a girl of 16.

Her actions let him take up positions in the church in Solihull with access to children, the tribunal said.

She was barred from ministry in March.

The acting Bishop of Birmingham, the Right Reverend Anne Hollinghurst, said the church was "profoundly saddened" by Ms Greenham's undermining of the trust placed in her.

Ms Greenham has been approached for a response over the newly-published tribunal report.

The church only learned of Jenkins' abuse after the couple's marriage broke down in 2019 when she discovered her husband's significant debts.

It was then that Ms Greenham admitted she had been aware he had made a 13-year-old girl pregnant and had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old pupil at a school he'd once worked at.

Jenkins himself had written to the Bishop of Hereford in 2007 and admitted an "inappropriate physical relationship" with a 16-year-old girl and agreed to stop any connection with youth work in Leominster Priory and Bridgnorth.

But that year, when he and Ms Greenham met the Bishop of Hereford to discuss Jenkins' behaviour, Ms Greenham helped misrepresent it as a "one off", the tribunal said.

This meant the Bishop of Hereford went on to mislead the Bishop of Birmingham over the true extent of Jenkins' abuse, it added.

Peter Jenkins was jailed for 13 years after admitting a string of sexual offences against children

Ms Greenham joined the Diocese of Birmingham in 2011 and was appointed director of children and families ministry in Solihull.

Through his status as her husband, Jenkins got involved in the church youth group and drove children back from meetings, the tribunal stated.

She had "expressly asserted" to the Bishop of Birmingham that he was not a risk to younger children.

Ms Greenham was suspended on 2 October 2020 from St Helen's Church in Solihull and was struck off in March this year.

Jenkins, a former teacher, was jailed for 13 years in August 2022 for a raft of child sex offences, including rape, committed between 1984 and 2005. The offences predate the pair's association with St Helen's and there is no evidence of any criminal behaviour connected to the church.

No criminal charges have been brought against Ms Greenham.

Helen Greenham was struck off in March

Ms Greenham told the hearing of her "sadness and shame" of her ex-husband's "repeated extra-marital sexual behaviour which has included underage girls and that I did not disclose what I knew to the extent I should have".

Bishop Hollinghurst praised the courage of the people who came forward with their complaints about Jenkins.

"We understand and continue to respond to the acute distress suffered by all affected," she added.

West Midlands Police previously said it would continue inquiries if more people came forward alleging abuse.