Chichester child abuser allowed to visit churches after jail

Alesha Racine was abused by Michael Walsh when she was 11 years old

A woman who was sexually abused by a lay vicar has said she is "extremely angry" that her abuser was allowed to visit and work in churches around the country.

Alesha Racine, now 59, was targeted at the age of 11 by Church of England lay vicar and choir teacher Michael Walsh.

He was jailed in 1990 for a string of sexual assaults against girls and released in 1992.

He was then allowed to play music and sing in choirs in Sussex churches.

Walsh was convicted of five indecent assault charges and confessed to sexually abusing a further eight children.

Ms Racine, who has waived her right to anonymity to speak to the BBC, has just received a six-figure pay out as compensation for the abuse she suffered as a child.

Walsh had been a teacher, a lay vicar at Chichester Cathedral and also ran a choir at a church in Chichester, West Sussex.

After his release in 1992, Walsh returned to the same church to be part of the choir.

He managed to gain a senior leadership position within the church music organisation the Guild of Church Musicians.

Deeply concerned for the safety of other girls, Ms Racine repeatedly wrote to church leaders who initially told her he would be barred but later admitted there was little they could do.

The BBC showed her a photo of Walsh in Arundel Cathedral, taken in February 2020, showing the convicted child abuser in front of a choir containing teenage girls.

Ms Racine responded: "It's an absolute replica of the situation in which I was abused as a child.

"I also feel extremely angry that that can still be going on after all of this and after everything the church says publicly.

"It's astonishing. I can only assume that the authorities don't care."

There is no suggestion Walsh caused any harm whilst he was at Arundel Cathedral, a Catholic place of worship.

No warning of risks

Rev Tim Ward, the vicar of St Mary's in Walberton, West Sussex, one of the churches Walsh had worked, said he was shocked to hear Walsh was a convicted child abuser.

He said no-one in the dioceses had warned him of the potential risks posed by Walsh.

The Diocese of Arundel and Brighton said: "The diocese became aware of [Walsh] following his attendance at Arundel Cathedral in 2020. Having become aware of his attendance at a past event the diocese liaised with the police, the Church of England, and the safeguarding office at the Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster.

"Walsh has no role within the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. Only adults who have been safely recruited have access to children."

Michael Walsh, seen here in the 1990s, was allowed to return to the same church choir after his release from prison

Walsh had held the role of general secretary of the Guild of Church Musicians. The Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Reverend Justin Welby is a patron of the organisation.

A Church of England spokesman said: "After a number of requests, Lambeth Palace contacted the Guild in 2019. He [Walsh] stepped down as role of general secretary in 2020.

"At present playing an organ in services, without other responsibilities, does not provide a legal basis to conduct a criminal record check", he said.

"We continue to believe that the government must change the law."

Walsh told the BBC the role had been purely administrative and he had not been anywhere near children in 30 years.

He initially said he had not visited any church or cathedral, but then explained he continued to work as a freelance church organist.

Alesha Racine says the church failed to reach out to her as a victim of sexual abuse

A spokesman for the Guild of Church Musicians said Walsh had served the guild in various capacities.

"There has never been any concern about his behaviour. At no time during his membership of the guild has Dr Walsh had unsupervised contact with children or vulnerable persons."

Walsh told the BBC his role within the Guild of Church Musicians was ended by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2020 after one of his victims had pursued legal action.

A spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury said: "The future patronage [of the Guild of Church Musicians] remains under discussion. Lambeth Palace requires all organisations of which the Archbishop is a patron to have safeguarding policies and to keep them under review."

'Great courage'

Richard Scorer, a lawyer with Slater and Gordon, said: "It is incredibly concerning that a convicted sex offender/abuser should be able to be in a senior role in a musical organisation associated with the Church of England and should be able to use that role to get access to environments where inevitably he is going to be in contact with children."

The Church of England spokesman said: "Alesha Racine has shown great courage in speaking out and shining a light on important questions about managing risks presented by ex-offenders.

"The crimes committed by Michael Walsh were abhorrent and have had a lifelong impact on the victims and survivors."

Ms Racine said the abuse had "affected my entire life".

"My conversations with the church had not succeeded in changing things," she said.

"[Walsh] had gone straight back into the church and was running some of the choir rehearsals at St George's Church in Whyke, and had access to young girls again.

"I think [the church] was going through the motions, so they could said 'yes we've done this, we've done that.'

"There didn't feel any sincerity in any of it. It felt like a game was being played."

Ms Racine said she had not received any apology with the compensation pay out.

"The actual [compensation] doesn't make any difference whatsoever. It's the process that has made a difference, because I feel that they've had to face things, whether they've liked it or not.

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