News

Former Bishop of Swansea and Brecon jailed for historic child sex abuse

Published

9 months ago

March 12, 2025

A FORMER bishop has been jailed for sexually abusing a boy over a five-year period while serving as a priest.

Anthony Pierce, 84, who was bishop of Swansea and Brecon from 1999 to 2008, admitted five counts of indecent assault on a child under 16.

Swansea Crown Court heard the abuse took place between 1985 and 1990 while Pierce was a parish priest in West Cross, Swansea.

Sentencing him to four years and one month in prison—half to be served behind bars before release on licence—Judge Catherine Richards told him: “You exploited his age and your position of trust.”

In a statement read in court, the victim said he remembered “exactly how I felt as the abuse took place” and described an “overwhelming sense of embarrassment” that prevented him from speaking out at the time.

“I have very low self-esteem and self-worth. I do not have friends. I feel trapped as I’m unable to move past the trauma of what happened,” he said.

The victim said he became dependent on alcohol as a teenager and struggled to form relationships. However, speaking out had given him an “overwhelming sense of relief” and made him feel “released from something that’s had a hold over me all these years”.

Pierce, who appeared in court with grey hair and glasses, was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and will remain on the sex offenders register for life, barring him from working or volunteering with children or vulnerable adults.

Prosecutor Dean Pulling said the abuse was “completely uninvited and unwanted”.

“He said he felt repelled by what the defendant did to him,” Mr Pulling told the court.

During a police interview, Pierce denied being attracted to children.

Judge Richards told Pierce, who was in his late 40s at the time of the offences: “You were expected to be trusted and respected. Any parent or adult at that time would understandably have trusted that their child was safe with you and you would act in accordance with your professed Christian values.

“Instead, you began to groom him.”

Defending, Heath Edwards said Pierce “deeply regrets the behaviour” and warned there was a risk he would “spend the rest of his life serving a custodial sentence”.

The Church in Wales said it felt “profound shame” over the offences and confirmed allegations about Pierce’s abuse only emerged in 2023 when the victim came forward.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Anthony Pierce has abused his position, disgraced his church and, worst of all, inflicted appalling and lasting trauma on his victim.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim in this case, who has shown immense courage in reporting what are deeply painful experiences. We offer him the most heartfelt apology for what he has had to endure.”

It later emerged that a separate allegation of sexual abuse against Pierce was reported to senior church figures in 1993—17 years before it was passed to police. The alleged victim, believed to have been under 18 at the time, had died by the time the church informed officers in 2010.

The Church in Wales has launched an independent review into the handling of that complaint and wider safeguarding procedures.

Pierce, who was made a commander of the Order of St John in 2002 and a knight of the order in 2010 for charitable service, is no longer a member, St John Ambulance confirmed.

He stepped down as bishop in January 2008, aged 67. Swansea University, which had awarded him an honorary fellowship, said it would now review that decision.

The Right Reverend John Lomas, the current Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, said he would ask the tribunal to consider deposing Pierce from Holy Orders—the most severe sanction available.

Monique McKevitt, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said Pierce initially denied the offences but pleaded guilty when confronted with “overwhelming prosecution evidence”.

She described his actions as a “gross abuse of trust” by someone expected to preside over important religious ceremonies.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “As a parish priest, Pierce grossly exploited his position of trust in the community to abuse a teenage boy.

“The victim in this case has shown great bravery in speaking out and helping to ensure Pierce faced justice for his crimes.

“Child sexual abuse can have a devastating and lasting impact on the victims, which is why it is so important that anyone who suffers such abuse knows that if they speak out, they will be listened to and supported.

“It is also vital that anyone who has worries about a child’s safety, raises their concerns. They can contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or [email protected].”

Crime

Swansea man dies weeks after release from troubled HMP Parc: Investigation launched

Published

4 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A SWANSEA man has died just weeks after being released from HMP Parc, the Bridgend prison now at the centre of a national crisis over inmate deaths and post-release failures.

Darren Thomas, aged 52, died on 13 November 2025 — less than a month after leaving custody. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has confirmed an independent investigation into his death, which is currently listed as “in progress”.

Born on 9 April 1973, Mr Thomas had been under post-release supervision following a period at HMP/YOI Parc, the G4S-run prison that recorded seventeen deaths in custody in 2024 — the highest in the UK.

His last known legal appearance was at Swansea Crown Court in October 2024, where he stood trial accused of making a threatening phone call and two counts of criminal damage. During the hearing, reported by The Pembrokeshire Herald at the time, the court heard he made threats during a heated call on 5 October 2023.

Mr Thomas denied the allegations but was found guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to a custodial term, which led to his imprisonment at HMP Parc.

Parc: A prison in breakdown

HMP Parc has faced sustained criticism throughout 2024 and 2025. A damning unannounced inspection in January found:

Severe self-harm incidents up 190%
Violence against staff up 109%
Synthetic drugs “easily accessible” across wings
Overcrowding at 108% capacity

In the first three months of 2024 alone, ten men died at Parc — part of a wider cluster of twenty PPO-investigated deaths since 2022. Six occurred within three weeks, all linked to synthetic drug use.

Leaked staff messages in 2025 exposed a culture of indifference, including one officer writing: “Let’s push him to go tomorrow so we can drop him.”

Six G4S employees have been arrested since 2023 in connection with alleged assaults and misconduct.

The danger after release

Deaths shortly after release from custody are a growing national concern. Ministry of Justice data shows 620 people died while under community supervision in 2024–2025, with 62 deaths occurring within 14 days of release.

Short sentences — common at Parc — leave little time for effective rehabilitation or release planning. Homelessness, loss of drug tolerance and untreated mental-health conditions create a high-risk environment for those newly released.

The PPO investigates all such deaths to determine whether prisons or probation failed in their duties. Reports often take 6–12 months and can lead to recommendations.

A system at breaking point

The crisis at Parc reflects wider failures across UK prisons and probation. A July 2025 House of Lords report described the service as “not fit for purpose”. More than 500 people die in custody annually, with campaigners warning that private prisons such as Parc prioritise cost-cutting over care.

The PPO investigation into the death of Darren Thomas continues.

Crime

Woman stabbed partner in Haverfordwest before handing herself in

Published

5 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Court Reporter

A WOMAN who stabbed her partner during a drug-fuelled episode walked straight into Haverfordwest Police Station and told officers what she had done, Swansea Crown Court has heard.

Amy Woolston, 22, of Dartmouth Street in Milford Haven, arrived at the station at around 8:00pm on June 13 and said: “I stabbed my ex-partner earlier… he’s alright and he let me walk off,” prosecutor Tom Scapens told the court.

The pair had taken acid together earlier in the day, and Woolston claimed she believed she could feel “stab marks in her back” before the incident.

Police find victim with four wounds

Officers went to the victim’s home to check on him. He was not there at first, but returned shortly afterwards. He appeared sober and told police: “Just a couple of things,” before pointing to injuries on his back.

He had three stab or puncture wounds to his back and another to his bicep.

The victim said that when he arrived home from the shop, Woolston was acting “a bit shifty”. After asking if she was alright, she grabbed something from the windowsill — described as either a knife or a shard of glass — and stabbed him.

He told officers he had “had worse from her before”, did not support a prosecution, and refused to go to hospital.

Defendant has long history of violence

Woolston pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding. The court heard she had amassed 20 previous convictions from 10 court appearances, including assaults, battery, and offences against emergency workers.

Defending, Dyfed Thomas said Woolston had longstanding mental health problems and had been off medication prescribed for paranoid schizophrenia at the time.
“She’s had a difficult upbringing,” he added, saying she was remorseful and now compliant with treatment.

Woolston was jailed for 12 months, but the court heard she has already served the equivalent time on remand and will be released imminently on a 12-month licence.

News

BBC apologises to Herald’s editor for inaccurate story

Published

6 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Staff Writer

THE BBC has issued a formal apology and amended a six-year-old article written by BBC Wales Business Correspondent Huw Thomas after its Executive Complaints Unit ruled that the original headline and wording gave an “incorrect impression” that Herald editor Tom Sinclair was personally liable for tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The 2019 report, originally headlined “Herald newspaper editor Tom Sinclair has £70,000 debts”, has now been changed.

The ECU found: “The wording of the article and its headline could have led readers to form the incorrect impression that the debt was Mr Sinclair’s personal responsibility… In that respect the article failed to meet the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”

Mr Sinclair said: “I’m grateful to the ECU for the apology and for correcting the personal-liability impression that caused real harm for six years. However, the article still links the debts to ‘the group which publishes The Herald’ when in fact they related to printing companies that were dissolved two years before the Herald was founded in 2013. I have asked the BBC to add that final clarification so the record is completely accurate.”

A formal apology and correction of this kind from the BBC is extremely rare, especially for a story more than six years old.