The Archdiocese of Birmingham has issued an apology to the victims of a Catholic priest who has been sentenced to eleven years in prison for a string of heinous crimes.

Fr Joseph Quigley was convicted of several serious offences; engaging in sexual activity with a child, two counts of sexual assault, one count of child cruelty and two counts of false imprisonment. The jury in the trial – which took place at Warwick Crown Court back in December – took just four hours to reach their guilty verdict.

At his sentencing, the judge in the case described Quigley as a “sexual sadist and voyeur”.

Following his sentence, the Archdiocese under whose authority Quigley ministered called his crimes “unacceptable”.

“There is no excuse for any kind of abuse and the Archdiocese apologises for the suffering he has caused,” said a spokesperson for the Archdiocese.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with all those who have suffered and we again acknowledge their courage in coming forward to provide evidence.”

The spokesperson added that while the Archdiocese “cannot change the past”, they will endeavour to identify any failings “and learn from them so they do not happen ever again”.

“Joseph Quigley will now face church disciplinary processes that will address the seriousness of his offences,” they added. “The Archdiocese is committed to best practice in safeguarding, offering a compassionate response to victims/survivors of abuse.”

Investigating officer Det Sgt Abigail Simpson from Warwickshire Police said: “I welcome the sentence and hope this sends a strong message to other perpetrators of child sexual abuse that we will always thoroughly investigate sexual offences against children and do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice, regardless of when the offences took place.

“Thankfully, Quigley is now behind bars paying the price for his reprehensible crimes committed against a vulnerable child.

“The victim, in this case, has demonstrated immense bravery in disclosing what happened to him, and I hope this sentence offers some comfort and closure.

“I would urge anyone who may have been a victim of sexual abuse to come forward and report this to us, regardless of when the abuse happened. We will always investigate offences of this nature and are committed to ensuring victims have the necessary support in place to help them.

Tamina Greaves, senior prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “As a priest, Joseph Quigley used his position to commit depraved offences against the victim who trusted and respected him, and he abused that trust.

“The CPS built a compelling case against Mr Quigley that included witness testimonies and documentary evidence which also demonstrated he had a history of behaving inappropriately towards another young male.

“Despite the overwhelming evidence mounted against him, Quigley continued to deny any wrongdoing but was convicted by the jury. I would like to commend the victim and key witnesses for their bravery and support in helping the CPS bring this child abuser to justice.”

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