5 days Ago
The diocese of Chichester has spoken out after a former vicar pleaded guilty to the possession of indecent images of children and extreme pornography. Reverend Geoffrey Baulcomb, who was formerly vicar at St Mary the Virgin Church in Eastbourne, pleaded guilty to the offences at the Central Criminal Court this week . The diocese said that Mr Baulcomb, 79, retired from full-time ministry in the Church of England in 2003.
Upon moving to Sussex in 2004 he applied for ‘Permission to Officiate’. He held this in the Diocese of Chichester from then until 2022. In December 2022, detectives from the Metropolitan Police contacted the Diocesan Safeguarding Team to inform them that Mr Baulcomb was under investigation.
The Bishop of Chichester immediately removed his Permission to Officiate, and he was asked to stop attending his local church. Police bail conditions have prevented him from attending church or entering Church of England premises whilst investigations continued. In August 2024, a Clergy Discipline Tribunal, on separate charges relating to the possession of drugs, imposed a prohibition on Mr Baulcomb exercising his Holy Orders for the rest of his life.
The Diocesan Safeguarding Team have worked closely with the Metropolitan Police since December 2022. A spokeswoman for The Diocese of Chichester said: "The Diocese wishes to put on record our gratitude for their extremely pro-active approach to information sharing and partnership working, which has enabled us to manage the risks Mr Baulcomb presents whilst he is under investigation. "Every image he viewed was a crime scene, including images of children being abused.
His behaviour was appalling, and we trust that this will be reflected in the sentence he receives." Mr Baulcomb now awaits sentence for these crimes..
