Paedophile priest's sentencing delayed by cancer

The sentencing of a paedophile priest over the abuse of children in the 1970s and 80s has been adjourned after it emerged he has cancer.

Edward Phillips-Smith, 75, has admitted abusing boys while working as a priest in the Lichfield Diocese and chaplain at a school in Wolverhampton.

During a hearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Thursday, Judge Lockhart described the accused's condition as "very significant and life-limiting".

Phillips-Smith was remanded in his absence on conditional bail ahead of a sentencing date on 10 April, pending pre-sentencing and medical reports.

He has admitted and indicated guilty pleas to counts of abuse carried out between 1978 and 1983, following separate police investigations in Staffordshire and Wolverhampton.

In November, he pleaded guilty to indecent assault of a boy under the age of 14 and to inciting the boy to commit an act of gross indecency.

These two charges relate to attacks that took place in Brewood, Staffordshire, between 1982 and 1983, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

In a separate case, brought by West Midlands Police, Phillips-Smith has indicated guilty pleas to charges of indecent assault on a boy under 14 between 1978 and 1980, and gross indecency with a boy under 14 between the same dates.

Police previously said these offences took place at an undisclosed location in Wolverhampton.

In court on Thursday, Judge Lockhart said: "I can't sentence, I don't have a probation report for a man who has a very significant and life-limiting condition."

The court heard Phillips-Smith had disclosed his condition to counsel by email.

It left him "barely able to leave his house" in Colchester, barrister Lucy Tapper said, but had not yet started treatment due to his concerns it would conflict with court dates.

The judge added reports should include a "prognosis from a registered medical practitioner" and remanded the accused on conditional bail.

"This is the hearing of Phillips-Smith on both cases," he said. "The plea and the basis are acceptable.

"I will adjourn for sentencing on both cases.

"The accused is unlikely to be well enough to attend court."

Phillips-Smith was ordained as a priest in Lichfield Diocese in 1974 and went on to work as a chaplain at St Peter's Collegiate Academy in Wolverhampton, where he was known to children as Father Eddie.

While at St Peter's, he would run after-school clubs and take pupils on trips, including to his former home in Brewood, Staffordshire, where some of his abuse took place.

He used his large stature to "bully" and "intimidate" victims, the BBC was told.

He was jailed in January 2024 for 32 months after pleading guilty to additional counts of indecent assault on a male and two counts of indecency with a child.

He was subsequently released on licence in May last year, according to the Ministry of Justice.

An investigation by the BBC has discovered Phillips-Smith went on to be employed at Edgarley Hall Prep School, now Millfield Prep, Somerset, and Papplewick School in Ascot, Berkshire.

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