Former church curate jailed for child sex abuse

Julian Wheeler was found guilty of 13 counts of indecent assault by a jury at Exeter Crown Court.

A former Church of England clergyman has been jailed for 11 years for abusing two altar boys.

Julian Wheeler, 75, of Mount Raleigh Avenue, Bideford, was found guilty of 13 counts of indecent assault at Exeter Crown Court.

He was a curate and vicar at two churches in north Devon in the 1980s and 1990s when he groomed and abused the boys.

They were aged between 10 and 14 when Wheeler abused them.

One said he kept his trauma secret until he broke down in front of his wife more than 30 years after the abuse - when his own son reaching the age of 10 triggered flashbacks.

He said: "I don't understand how he could have subjected me to such abuse when he must have seen how vulnerable I was."

The court heard the other boy initially reported the abuse in 1998 but withdrew the allegations at the time.

He was then traced by police in 2022 when the second victim came forward, and reaffirmed his original allegations.

Wheeler told the jury the allegations against him were invented and the case against him had been choreographed.

When sentencing, Judge James Adkin told him: "This was serious sexual abuse.

"The breach of trust was significant in the circumstances of you being a clergyman and a father figure to the boys.

"You were significantly trusted in the community and you exploited that to use them for sex."

'Position of trust'

Temporary Det Insp Elaine Westerman said Wheeler was "a man in a position of trust."

She said: "He used his role as a church curate to gain access to vulnerable boys which he went on to abuse."

Ms Westerman said the force welcomed the outcome, and hoped the victims could find comfort in justice being served.

District crown prosecutor Suzie Butler praised the "immense courage and bravery" shown by the victims.

Wheeler has been placed on the sex offenders register for life.

He served in the Diocese of Exeter from 1975 to 2003.

The Acting Bishop of Exeter, the Right Reverend Jackie Searle, said: "I hope the justice done today will bring some peace to all affected by this case, including the communities where he lived and worked.

"It is deeply disturbing and shocking that vulnerable children were abused by a member of clergy who had a duty of care to protect them."