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Victim says ex-priest's sentence falls short of justice

by Kelly Valencia
Edward Philips Essex Police.png - Banner image
Essex Police

A victim of former priest Edward Phillips-Smith has said a two-year community sentence for further child sex offences does not deliver justice.

Phillips-Smith, 76, admitted abusing four boys while serving as a school chaplain at St Peter's Collegiate School in Wolverhampton. Wolverhampton Crown Court heard he has terminal cancer and a life expectancy of less than two years.

The latest sentence relates to assaults on two boys in the late 1970s and early 1980s at school accommodation and his Staffordshire home. Both victims contacted police after media coverage of his 2024 conviction, when he was jailed for 32 months for abusing two other boys.

One victim, who has been granted anonymity, said the abuse had lifelong consequences and criticised the sentence, arguing Phillips-Smith had failed to take responsibility for his offending.

Phillips-Smith, who was released on licence in 2025, now lives in Essex and was banned for life by the Church of England earlier this year.

The court heard he abused boys during after-school activities, school trips and church camping holidays, using his position of trust to target victims.

Lichfield Diocese said it had co-operated with police and welcomed the outcome of the case. Papplewick School said a review of Phillips-Smith's time there found no evidence meeting the threshold for a criminal investigation, but acknowledged harm may have occurred and apologised to anyone affected.

Thames Valley Police said it had received a report from a former pupil, but the threshold for an investigation had not been met.

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