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| Vickery House found guilty of historic sex offences | Vickery House found guilty of historic sex offences |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A retired Church of England priest has been found guilty of a string of sex offences dating back to the 1970s and 1980s. | A retired Church of England priest has been found guilty of a string of sex offences dating back to the 1970s and 1980s. |
| Vickery House, 69, had denied eight counts of indecent assault against six males aged 14 to 34, between 1970 and 1986. | |
| He told the Old Bailey he was ashamed of his actions, but claimed they were not sexual assaults. | He told the Old Bailey he was ashamed of his actions, but claimed they were not sexual assaults. |
| House, of Brighton Road, Handcross, West Sussex, will be sentenced later. | |
| The former vicar in Berwick, East Sussex, worked under Bishop Peter Ball, who was jailed for 32 months earlier this month after he admitted molesting young men between 1977 and 1992. | |
| The pair targeted young men through a Church of England scheme called Give a Year For Christ, with four members being abused by both men. | |
| House was found guilty of five counts of indecent assault over a period of 16 years. | |
| He was cleared of three further counts. | |
| Analysis: BBC South East special correspondent, Colin Campbell | |
| The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has commissioned an "independent inquiry" to find out if the Church of England covered up sexual abuse perpetrated by Bishop Peter Ball. | |
| At least one of Ball's victims, who was also abused by Vickery House, believes the pair were aware of each other's abusive criminal behaviour and colluded to satisfy their sexual desires. | |
| The question the church must answer in the case of Peter Ball is why there was delay or failure by clergy to inform the police. | |
| The church appears confident it will get answers but past church led independent inquiries have shown that factual accuracy has not always been forthcoming. | |
| There also remains real concerns amongst victims and witnesses about the churches suggestion that the inquiry will be truly independent. |