“Pristina won’t extradite priest accused of child sex abuse” & related articles

Share Button

A court in Kosovo has for the second time refused to extradite a former British priest wanted by his country on child sex abuse charges.

b92.net

Source: B92, Beta

“British citizen Andrew Charles Kingston Soper should not be extradited because offenses he has been charged with exceeded the statute of limitations,” the Basic Court in the town of Pec has announced.

Soper is now 73 and has been on the run since 2011 when he jumped bail, after he was accused of sexually abusing five pupils in a private Catholic school in west London in the 1970s and 1980s.

According to Reuters, the former priest’s name is “Lawrence Soper” and he was detained in Pec in May where he had lived for “four-five years under the name Andrew Charles Kingston.”

Previously, British media identified him as “Laurence Soper, the former abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Ealing Abbey in west London,” who was living in Kosovo under the name “Andrew Soper.”

_________________________________

Kosovo: British former priest accused of abuse should not be extradited – court

christiantoday.com

Metropolitan Police

A court in Kosovo has ruled that British former priest Laurence Soper should not be extradited back to the UK

Laurence Soper was detained in the western town of Peja – where he had lived for abour five years under the name Andrew Charles Kingston – in May on an international arrest warrant. He is accused of sex offences while he was a teacher in Britain. Soper allegedly committed the offences at St Benedict’s School in Ealing, where he was a teacher in the 1970s and 1980s.

The former abbot, now in his 70s, reportedly jumped bail in 2011 and a European arrest warrant was issued in 2012.

“British citizen Andrew Charles Kingston Soper should not be extradited because offences he has been charged with exceeded the statute of limitations,” a spokeswoman at the Basic Court, the first instance court in Peja, said.

Soper will remain in custody and the prosecutor has three days to appeal the ruling, she said.

This is the second time authorities in Kosovo have rejected the extradition request. In June, a court in Pristina rejected the request, seeking more documents from the British authorities.

Soper was arrested in 2010 when a man in his 40s came forward with an allegation of sexual assault at the school, which was also attended by actor Andy Serkis and comedian Julian Clary. He was bailed but did not return to a London police station in March 2011.

Kosovo saw fierce fighting in the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Its independence has not been recognised by Serbia and it still suffers from high unemployment and low income.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

_______________________________

British priest wanted on child sex charges should not be extradited-Kosovo court

Reuters Canada

Mon Aug 8, 2016 7:22am EDT

PRISTINA (Reuters) – A former priest wanted on child sex abuse charges from the 1970s and 1980s should not be extradited to Britain because the crimes were committed too long ago, a court in Kosovo ruled on Monday.

Lawrence Soper was detained in the western town of Peja, where he had lived for 4-5 years under the name Andrew Charles Kingston, in May on an international arrest warrant. He is accused of sex offences while he was a teacher in Britain.

British media said the former abbot from Ealing, west London, now in his 70s, had jumped bail in 2011 and a European arrest warrant was issued.

“British citizen Andrew Charles Kingston Soper should not be extradited because offences he has been charged with exceeded the statute of limitations,” a spokeswoman at the Basic Court, the first instance court in Peja, said.

Soper will remain in custody and the prosecutor has three days to appeal the ruling, she said.

This is the second time authorities in Kosovo have rejected the extradition request. In June, a court in Pristina rejected the request, seeking more documents from British authorities.

(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Ivana Sekularac and Janet Lawrence)

___________________________________

Fugitive British priest lived in Kosovo under false name

by Reuters

Sunday, 15 May 2016 15:58 GMT

* Defendant said he was writing a book about Kosovo

* Lived under the name Andrew Charles Kingston

* Former priest is expected to be extradited

By Fatos Bytyci

PEJA, Kosovo, May 15 (Reuters) – A British former priest wanted for child sex abuse lived as a historian in Kosovo, was treated to cakes by his neighbours and almost died in a freak accident a year ago, local people told Reuters on Sunday.

Lawrence Soper was arrested on Wednesday in the town of Peja following an international arrest warrant.

Soper is accused of sex offences while he was a teacher in the 1970s and 1980s in Britain. British media said the former abbot from Ealing, west London, now in his 70s, had jumped bail in 2011 and a European warrant was subsequently issued.

For the past 4 or 5 years he lived under the name Andrew Charles Kingston in a secluded street near the centre of Peja. He had even started to speak Albanian.

“We were shocked,” said a neighbour, who declined to be named.

“He told me he was a historian writing a book about Kosovo, we even gave him cakes, and meat when we had a barbecue. He told us he had a wife and she died and he was alone living on his pension. A very nice person.”

“Whenever it was sunny he would go on to the balcony to read books. We saw him as a poor person and our tradition says you have to help people who are alone. But we saw in the media that we were wrong,” another neighbour said.

Through the window of the house where Soper lived, fresh bread could be seen in a plastic bag on the refrigerator. Plates had been left to dry on a table.

FRESH AIR

He told neighbours he had tried living in Kosovo’s capital Pristina but it was too noisy and dusty. He preferred the fresh air of Peja, surrounded by mountains that are topped by snow at this time of year.

Soper nearly died in 2015 when he fell into a basement on a construction site and cut his throat on a metal bar. Neighbours said he lost a lot of blood and was rushed to hospital. He gave the name of someone in Britain to be contacted in the event of his death.

Soper’s secret life ended when plain-clothes police knocked on his door this week.

“Police arrested this person after we were notified that he was wanted on a European arrest warrant,” said Veton Elshani of the Kosovo police. “He was put in detention pending extradition.”

A government source said extradition could take about five months if Soper appeals.

Neighbours wondered why Soper had chosen to live in Kosovo, an impoverished country that seceded from Serbia in 2008.

“We asked ourselves what is good about Kosovo and bad about Britain for him to live here,” said one. (Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; editing by Giles Elgood)

__________________________________

Catholic monk arrested for child sex crimes ‘spent five years posing as a widowed author’

A CATHOLIC monk arrested for child sex offences allegedly spent five years on the run posing as a widowed author in Eastern Europe, where he almost died.

The Daily Star

By Patrick Christys /

Laurence Soper NC/GOOGLE MAPSDETAINED: Laurence Soper is awaiting extradition to England to face child abuse charges

Lawrence Soper, wanted for alleged historic sex crimes, was arrested in Kosovo on Wednesday following an international manhunt.

Soper, who is in his 70s, is accused of committing offences while he was a teacher and bursar at the scandal-hit St Benedict’s School in Ealing, West London.

But the monk allegedly skipped bail in 2011.

Laurence Soper NCARRESTED: Laurence Soper was arrested in Kosovo after five years on the run

Now it has emerged he had been posing as a writer called Andrew Charles Kingston in Peja, rural Kosovo, and nearly died in a freak accident last year.

The pensioner fell into the basement of an unfinished house on a construction site, slashing his throat, according to bemused neighbours who regarded Soper as “a very nice person”.

He lost a lot of blood and was rushed to hospital where he gave the name of someone in Britain whom authorities should contact if he died, the neighbours said.

An anonymous Peja villager said: “We were shocked [when he was arrested].”He told me he was a historian writing a book about Kosovo, we even gave him cakes and meat when we had a barbecue.

“He told us he had a wife and she died and he was alone living on his pension. A very nice person.

Laurence SoperSCANDAL: St Benedict’s School, Ealing, London, has a history of child abuse scandals

“Whenever it was sunny he would go on to the balcony to read books. We saw him as a poor person and our tradition says you have to help people who are alone.

“But we saw in the media that we were wrong.”

Soper’s alleged secret life ended when plain-clothes police knocked on his door this week.

Kosovo police said in a statement: “Police arrested this person after we were notified that he was wanted on a European arrest warrant.

“He was put in detention pending extradition.”

A Government source said extradition could take about five months if Soper appeals.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We are aware of the arrest and we are liaising with the relevant authorities.”

St Benedict's School WIKIPEDIA

ABUSE: Head of St Benedict’s School, Ealing, apologised for historic abuse at the school

In June 2010 the Met said a man, then in his 40s, made a historical allegation of sexual assault relating to his time at the school.On May 6, Peter Allott, another former teacher at St Benedict’s School, Ealing, was jailed for possessing hundreds of child porn images.

Meanwhile headteacher Chris Cleugh publicly apologised in 2009 after a damning report showed child abuse had taken place at the school between the 1960s and 2009.

______________________________________

Brit priest who spent FIVE years on the run after skipping bail on child sex abuse claims arrested in Kosovo

The Sun

14th May 2016, 7:19 pm

A BRITISH Catholic priest wanted over child sex abuse claims has been arrested
after five years on the run.

Former monk Laurence Soper was found in Kosovo after skipping bail and
vanishing following his arrest in September 2010.

He was being hunted over sex offences allegedly carried out when he was abbot
of Catholic Ealing Abbey in London from 1991 to 2000.

Times Newspapers Ltd

Times Newspapers Ltd


Following allegations by a former pupil in 2010 Soper was arrested and
questioned by cops.

He was bailed but failed to return to a police station in London a year later
in March 2011 after cops let him keep his passport.

Soper had been asked to return to London from Italy where he worked but
instead of flying back into Heathrow he skipped bail and vanished, The
MailOnline reports.

A European Arrest Warrant was issued for him in 2012 after he went on the run.

Police in Kosovo’s capital Pristina confirmed he had been arrested in Pec on
Thursday.

An anonymous senior official said that the extradition process was under way
to return him to the UK, according to reports.

A Met spokesman said: “The Metropolitan Police is aware of an arrest and
is currently in liaison with the relevant authorities.”

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: “Our Embassy is providing
assistance following the arrest of a British National in Peja, Kosovo on
Wednesday 11 May.”

In June 2010, a man made an allegation of sexual assault at St Benedict’s
School in Ealing, west London.

Mr Soper was questioned three months later and a source close to the
investigation said in 2012: “He knew he was about to be charged.”

Soper quit the £12,000-a-year private school – that was attended by comedian
Julian Clary – leaving Britain in 2001.

He headed to Rome to become treasurer at the Benedictine Order’s headquarters
at St Anselmo.

Kosovo’s Insajderi newspaper said Mr Soper had been living under the name
Andrew, and had lived in Pec for several years.

Pec, Kosovo

Alamy

Soper was named, along with four others, in Lord Carlile’s independent report
into allegations of physical and sexual abuse of children at the school over
a 40-year period. Two former teachers at St Benedict’s were jailed.

Concerns were also raised about Soper’s time as part-time chaplain at Feltham
Young Offender Institution between 1988 and 2000 by a former worker.

Ealing Abbey has now confirmed that Soper was questioned by police during this
period and a spokesman said of Soper in 2012: “All efforts to make
contact with him have been without success.

“He was trusted by the police in England to return.

“He has betrayed that trust.”

In the mid-Nineties, Scotland Yard investigated an alleged paedophile ring
visiting boys there.

7 Responses to “Pristina won’t extradite priest accused of child sex abuse” & related articles

  1. Sylvia says:

    Well, well, well,,
    We followed Soper back in November 201 1 when word came out about the abuse at St. Benedict’s and the fact that, after having been arrested, Soper was allowed to hang onto his passport, and that was it – away he went and hadn’t been seen or heard of in eight months, and then news that the fugitive priest had slipped back into the Vatican to clean out his bank account

    And, now this. The 73-year-old has been living in the the Kosovo region for years. He changed his name, lied to and has charmed his unwitting neighbours. He nearly died in a freak accident a year ago, and at the time gave the name of someone in Britian as a contact should he die.

    Now a court in Kosovoa has ruled that the fugitive should not be extradited because of the child sex abuse charges which he faces in the UK exceed their statute of limitations. I was unable to find out if the prosecutor did or did not appeal the decision. He had three days to do so, and that three days is now past. I pray that he appealed, and that he found an argument suffice to convince all legal minds that Soper should be returned to his native land to face his accusers.

    Can you believe it? Can you believe that any country on the face of the earth would willingly allow a man like this safe haven?

    Please keep his accusers in your prayers. These must be very difficult days for them.

  2. Mike Fitzgerald says:

    Not only is he a coward, but a chronic liar and manipulator – all while professing to be a “man of God”.
    Sylvia, you ask if anyone can believe this! I for one do – we have seen this so many times before. The authorities stick their heads in the sand very deeply, and pretend that it never happened. How sick and sad!
    I will be thinking of the victims of this vermin. Mike.

  3. Sylvia says:

    He’s back in the UK and has been arrested:

    Priest arrested for child abuse at UK airport

    22 August 2016
    IT Industry Today

    A British priest accused of child sex offences was arrested at London’s Luton airport on Sunday, five years after he went on the run.

    Laurence Soper was arrested on Sunday as he arrived back in the UK from Kosovo, police said in a statement.

    Soper, 72, was taken into custody in London and is accused of nine sexual assault offences committed between 1972 and 1986.

    His arrest concludes a lengthy legal battle between the UK and Kosovo, where Soper was arrested in May on a European warrant issued by Britain.

    Police in Kosovo said at the time he was known as “Father Laurence” and gave his full name as Andrew Charles Kingston Soper.

    Earlier this month a Kosovo court refused for the second time to extradite the Catholic priest, ruling he could not be extradited because the statute of limitations for the alleged crimes had been reached.

    Kosovo authorities were not immediately available to comment on Soper’s return to Britain and his subsequent arrest.

    London’s Metropolitan Police was unable to say whether his return to the UK was made possible through an agreement with authorities in Kosovo, or whether Soper flew to London voluntarily.

    A spokeswoman for the UK’s interior ministry was unable to confirm whether the government was involved in seeing Soper return to Britain.

    The priest had been on the run since jumping bail in 2011. He has been accused of abusing five pupils when he taught at a private Catholic school in London.

    Following an independent British report detailing 21 incidents of abuse by monks dating from the 1970s until 2010, the London school involved — St Benedict’s — apologised in 2011 and accepted recommendations to fundamentally change the way it is run.

  4. Mike Fitzgerald says:

    I am grateful to the powers that be that this creature is now off the street, and unable to cause any more harm! Mike.

  5. Rachael O Reilly says:

    Update on Laurence Soper;

    Andrew Soper, 74, formerly known as Father Laurence Soper, was found guilty of 19 charges of rape and other sexual offences after a lengthy trial at the Old Bailey London England.

    Ealing Abbey, The Benedictine monastery in west London continues to function as does the school, St. Benedict’s, where the sex abuses crimes against children took place.

    I suggest readers look at this time line of crimes committed at the abbey; It makes for grotesque reading.

    St Benedict’s reputation as one of the UK’s leading Catholic schools has been blighted by a ‘terrible legacy’ of sex abuse by paedophile priests.

    Soper is one of seven senior figures either convicted or accused of preying on pupils at the £15,000-a-year private school during the last 25 years.

    Former headmaster Christopher Cleugh admitted the school ‘could have, and should have, done more’ to protect victims following a damning 2011 inquiry which concluded that Ealing Abbey monks had to lose their control of the school.

    TIMELINE OF ALLEGATIONS AND CONVICTIONS at EALING ABBEY and St. BENEDICT’S SCHOOL;

    1992: The junior school’s former headmaster Father David Pearce is accused of sexually abusing a boy, but police take no further action.

    2001: Former abbot Rev Dom Martin Shipperlee receives complaint about Pearce and makes police aware of it.

    2003: Former middle school master John Maestri admits three counts of indecent assault against two pupils between 1980 and 1984.

    2005: Maestri pleads guilty to another count of indecent assault relating to a sex attack in 1982.

    2006: The High Court awards damages to one of Pearce’s victims.

    2007: Rev Shipperlee allows Pearce to return to Ealing Abbey as bursar. Pearce sexually assaults a child within months.

    2007: Father Stanislaus Hobbs, part of St Benedict’s middle school staff between 1969-1984, stands trial for one count of indecent assault in 1984 but is cleared by a jury.

    2008: Former middle school headmaster Father Anthony Gee is accused of caning a boy on his bare buttocks but no further action is taken.

    2009: Father David Pearce is charged with 22 counts of indecent assault against six boys between 1975 and 2007 – prosecutors accepted his guilty pleas to 11 of the charges.

    2009: Maestri admits one count of indecent assault between 1979 and 1981.

    2010: Father Gregory Chillman is accused of one indecent assault between 1975-76, but no further action was taken.

    2010: Two female pupils at another school complain about Father Chillman’s ‘inappropriate’ behaviour in 2004 and he is later put on restricted ministry and barred from access to children.

    2010: St Benedict’s teacher John Skelton is convicted of indecent assaults against two pupils in 1983.

    2011: Pearce is charged with four counts of indecent assault against another boy between 1977 and 1978, but he was cleared following a trial.

    2011: Maestri is charged with three counts of indecent assault against another former pupil but is cleared by a jury.

    2011: Former headmaster Christopher Cleugh apologises for ‘terrible legacy’ of sex abuse following damning inquiry by Lord Carlile.

    2011: Father Andrew Soper withdraws £182,000 from his Vatican bank account and flies to Albania while on bail for sex offences against pupils.

    2016: Deputy head of St Benedict’s Peter Allott, 37, is jailed for ‘getting hooked on child pornography’ and taking part in chemsex ‘paedophile sex parties’

    2017: Soper convicted of 19 sex attacks on pupils at St Benedict’s in the 1970s and 1980s following an Old Bailey trial.

    This is what we know so far.

    Here is the BBC Report

    http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-42257548

    Soper is due to be sentenced on 19 December 2017

    I suspect he may well die in jail

  6. Geenda says:

    Seriously disturbing…

  7. Rachael O Reilly says:

    Update on the sentencing hearing on Soper

    He has been jailed for 18 years

    BBC link attached

    http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-42443604

Leave a Reply