Former pastor jailed for raping boys in church sacristy

On November 20, 2024By Pranco

Ifor Whittaker was a minister by the name of Father Colin Pritchard at St John the Baptist Church in Sedlescombethe

Eddie Mitchell Ifor Whittaker is looking at the camera, he is wearing a plaid shirt and paisley tie with a tweed style jacket. He wears glasses and has a short white beard — Ifor Whittaker was a minister by the name of Father Colin Pritchard at St John the Baptist Church in Sedlescombethe

A former Anglican minister who admitted raping a child in his parish has been jailed for life with a minimum term of eight years.

Ifor Whittaker, 80, admitted the rape and gross indecency of a boy in the vestry of St John the Baptist Church in Sedlescombe, East Sussex, where he served as a priest at the time under the name Colin Pritchard.

The facts are said to have taken place in the late 1990s, when the victim was still a young child.

Judge Gary Lucie said Whittaker had baptized him and the victim was often left in his care.

He told Whittaker, “You told him… that it would be your little secret. Even now, he still suffers from mental health issues and has flashbacks.

“There are, in my view, serious concerns that you remain a danger to young children,” the judge said.

“You are a predatory pedophile. I doubt you’ll ever stop being a danger to young boys.”

Whittaker was sentenced at Hove Crown Court on Tuesday.

Whittaker was previously convicted of sexually abusing a boy and conspiring with another priest to abuse the child.

Sussex Police A police mugshot of Ivor Whittaker in which he looks at the camera and a pale checked shirt can just be seen. He has a gray-white beard — Whittaker was previously convicted of sexually abusing a boy and conspiring with another priest to abuse the child.

In 2018, Whittaker was too prison sentence of 16 years for sexually abusing a boy and conspiring with another priest to abuse the child.

At the time of sentencing, the judge said the abuser had “given the victim alcohol” and “emotionally blackmailed the boy by saying ‘no one would believe you because of a priest'”.

He had already been jailed for five years in 2008 for abusing two children in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, between 1979 and 1983.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Chichester said its security team had been working closely with Sussex Police on the matter since it was reported.

They said the sentence reflected “the terrible nature of his crimes”.

“The victim in this case has shown extraordinary courage in coming forward to report Whittaker’s crimes,” she added.

“We apologize unreservedly to him for the terrible abuse he has suffered.”

Detective Inspector Nicky Beard, Sussex Police, said: ‘Ifor Whittaker is a predator who used his position of trust in the community to rape and sexually abuse young children.

“That level of betrayal should not be underestimated.

“The consequences of that abuse have lasted a lifetime, but he has shown incredible strength and courage to report Whittaker’s crimes to police and ensure he is brought to justice.”