Vicar Adrian Fereday Sentenced Over Child Porn

A vicar who downloaded pornographic videos and pictures of young girls has been jailed for a year. The Rev Adrian Fereday, who served Rotherham's Woodsetts, Firbeck and Letwell parishes, admitted to 16 counts of making indecent images of a child.

The images downloaded by the 50-year-old, from Stoke-on-Trent, featured girls aged between two and nine.

Judge Simon Lawler at Sheffield Crown Court described the material as "disgusting" and "offensive".

The court was told the father-of-two downloaded and stored 22 images on his computer over a three-month period last year.

He also admitted one charge of possessing indecent images of children.

The material, which included 17 movies and five still images, ranged between levels one and five - where one is the least serious and five the most.

In mitigation, barrister Robert Smith told the court that Fereday, who has been a vicar since 1994, had lost everything and was disgusted with himself.

'Depression'

He said: "His vocation has gone, his marriage has gone, the trust and respect he had in the family and the community has gone.

"That's a burden he will carry with him past this court hearing."

The court heard Fereday suffers with depression and told police this was the reason for downloading the pornography.

Judge Lawler said: "Your family, professional and pastoral lives lie in ruins.

"Many would say it is beyond belief that anyone, let alone a man of cloth who has worked with children, could have contemplated seeking out such material, let alone viewing it.

"Every time you viewed, you breached the trust of those unhappy children.

"The public would be justifiably outraged if I passed anything other than a custodial sentence."

Fereday was suspended from his post by the Diocese of Sheffield when he was arrested last November.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Sheffield said it had "immediately implemented the necessary procedures as a result of the verdict".

She added prayers had been said for those involved.

BBC News