Prince Charles to testify in shocking child sex abuse inquiry against disgraced ex-bishop Peter Ball
Prince Charles will submit an evidence on disgraced former bishop Peter Ball to a sex abuse inquiry into handling of allegations made against the latter. Last month, the Prince of Wales was asked to submit a witness statement to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) regarding his relationship to former bishop of Gloucester and Lewes, reported the Church Times.
An official statement by him will be read out on July 27.
Peter Ball was sentenced to 32 months in jail in 2015 after he admitted to a series of indecent assaults and the abuse of 18 young men aged 17-25.
Ball, now 86, sexually abused his victims for over 30 years. He was jailed in October 2015 and was released in February 2017 after serving 16 months.
The IICSA will be examining how the Church of England handled allegations of sexual abuse and the extent to which it failed to protect these children. Daily Mail reported that during the previous hearing in March, the inquiry focused on the Diocese of Chichester - where Ball and several other convicted pedophile priests once officiated.
According to reports, Ball in 1993, tried to avoid the charges pressed against him by dropping hints that he was closely associated with a member of the British Royal Family and boasted of his links. The unnamed royal, it was heard during the hearing, was among the host of famous figures who supported Ball.
After an independent review found that Ball used his connections with Prince Charles to boost his position, Clarence House reportedly denied any correspondence between Ball and the future king bearing on the issues before the inquiry, however, it 'did not object to them being shared for consideration,' reported Daily Mail.
Ball admitted misconduct in a public office and two counts of indecent assault. His sentence came 22 years after the abuse allegation first surfaced.
During the hearing, the court learned how Ball, between 1977 and 1992, convinced some of his victims to strip naked to pray and even suggested they submit to beatings. One of the victims to first come forward allegedly comitted suicide in 2012 after hearing that Sussex Police had reopened the case.
Ball will be subjected to a three-week public hearing next month. The inquiry will investigate 'whether there were inappropriate attempts by people of prominence to interfere in the criminal justice process after he was first accused of child sexual offenses.'
Among those who will give their evidence into the inqury are former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey and Reverend Graham Sawyer. Carey was believed to have deliberately delayed 'proper investigation' for nearly two decades by failing to pass information to the police, an inquest found. Reverend Graham Sawyer was abused by Ball as a teenager and later waived his right to anonymity.