Father Nwadei complained of loneliness
and befriended his victim who he regularly confided in and often hugged during
these exchanges.
A Catholic priest who went on the run
after sexually assaulting a woman has been jailed for eight months.
58-year-old Hilary Ogom Nwadei, from the Diocese of Issele-Uku,
Delta State, had pleaded guilty to fondling a woman's breast
and exposing himself while staying at St Mary’s Priory in Leyland.
Father Nwadei began staying at the Priory in September 2013
while he studied a doctorate in law at the University of Central Lancashire, and also
preached to the congregation.
Reports say during that time he complained of loneliness and
befriended his victim who he regularly confided in and often hugged during
these exchanges.
It was learnt that Nwadei on December 12, 2013 had asked his
victim to help him pack for a return trip to Nigeria. She agreed and went to
his bedroom.
According to the prosecutor, David
Traynor, “The
defendant leaned against the door of the room, causing it to shut. He was
between her and her way out of the room.
“He asked her for a kiss and she presented him
with her cheek, but the defendant said ‘No, a proper kiss’, then kissed her on
the lips.
“The victim said she wanted to leave and tried
to leave, then the defendant asked if she had any sexual feelings towards him.
When she said no the defendant reached up the
back of her jumper and undid her bra.
“Then he moved his hands round the front,
underneath her jumper and placed his hands under her bra, onto her naked
breasts. He fondled her breasts for a matter of seconds.
“The woman made her excuses to leave, but he
was still between her and the door, so she couldn’t leave at that point.”
The court heard he then undid his trousers, exposed himself
and made a lewd comment. The woman said she had to leave and Nwadei moved out
of the way to let her pass.
Mr Traynor also told the court Nwadei had told the woman “it
was meant to be just you and me” and told her not to say anything.
The court also heard that the assault followed two incidents
in previous days, where Nwadei had told the woman he loved her, “twanged” her
bra and slipped £100 in her pocket for new underwear.
The woman told a friend and the matter was raised with the
church, who launched an investigation, then told the police.
Reports say Nwadei had returned to Nigeria before moving to
London, returning briefly to Leyland to apologise for his actions. But knowing
that he was wanted for questioning, he left the UK again, following the death
of his father and did not return until he was arrested at Heathrow
Airport while on
a transit flight to the USA in December 2014 – 12 months after the offence.
Claire Jones speaking for the defence , said: “He
yearns to return to his country and has learned a salutary lesson. He can no
longer carry on in this vein.
“He has been asked to leave the church and
also it has shaken his faith going through this experience.”
Jones insisted
there was no evidence to suggest he tried to stop the victim from leaving the
bedroom during the time of the assault.
The judge, Mitchael Byrne read
out excerpts from the victim’s impact statement, where she told of feeling
intimidated and scared to bump into Nwadei.
Sentencing, he said: “I make it unequivocally plain that all incidents of sexual
assault always regarded as serious.”
He said although the crime was at the lower end of the
scale, it has two aggravating features – it was a breach of trust for a
minister of religion, and that the invitation to his bedroom was for the
purpose of a sexual encounter.
Reflecting his guilty plea, Judge Byrne jailed him for eight
months with a £100 statutory charge.
Nwadei will be put on the sex offenders’ register for 10
years, and will be deported from the UK immediately after his jail term
expires.
DS Carl Matthews said, “This
was a despicable crime committed by Nwadei who then tried to flee from facing
the consequences of his actions. I hope that today’s sentence brings some
closure to his victim who has been supported by specially trained officers
throughout the process.”
A spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool said:“Father Ogom came to England to undertake further studies in Law
at the University of Central Lancashire having received an appropriate
Testimonial of Suitability for Ordained Ministry from the Bishop of Issele-Uku.
“During his stay in this country he resided in
the Archdiocese of Liverpool at St Mary’s, Leyland.
“The case came to light when the victim
reported the matter to the Safeguarding Department of the Archdiocese. It was
immediately referred to Lancashire Police.”
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