Church of England commissions review into abuse by Portsmouth paedophile choirmaster Mark Burgess

A PAEDOPHILE choirmaster has lost a bid to clear his name after being jailed for abusing 13 children.
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Pervert Mark Burgess, 68, turned to the Court of Appeal to try and continue his deflection and blaming others for the sexual abuse he perpetrated.

But his case failed to make it to a full panel of senior judges – meaning his conviction for 48 offences will remain in place.

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Burgess, of St Chad’s Avenue, Hilsea, was handed a 40-year jail term and he is continuing to appeal against this. Appeal judges will consider the case on a date yet to be fixed.

Former choirmaster Mark Burgess of St Chad's Avenue, Hilsea, was jailed at Portsmouth Crown Court.Former choirmaster Mark Burgess of St Chad's Avenue, Hilsea, was jailed at Portsmouth Crown Court.
Former choirmaster Mark Burgess of St Chad's Avenue, Hilsea, was jailed at Portsmouth Crown Court.

As reported, the ‘calculated manipulator’ carried out decades of abuse while a teacher at Portsmouth City Boys’ School and when running choirs at St John’s Church in Westbourne and All Saints Church in Commercial Road.

During his 11-week trial he shifted blame to others and outright denied the allegations brought by 12 boys and one girl between the 1970s and 2000s.

His conviction and jailing has led to a major review being commissioned by the Church of England.

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Burgess’ abuse spanned both Chichester and Portsmouth dioceses.

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Victims of ex-choirmaster Mark Burgess speak out against 'manipulative paedophil...

A spokesperson for the Dioceses of Portsmouth and Chichester said: ‘We are committed to continually improving what we do to ensure the safety of all those involved in church activities.

‘Part of that involves learning the lessons from past cases where safeguarding failures have occurred.

‘Both Portsmouth and Chichester dioceses have agreed that a joint, independent ‘lessons learned’ review should be conducted in this case.

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‘It will include contributions from survivors, including those who bravely came forward to give evidence at the trial.

‘Because of the complexity of this case, the review should be commissioned by the national Church of England’s safeguarding team. It will appoint an independent reviewer and decide its terms of reference and resourcing. Its report will include details of what actions should be taken as a result.’

Burgess denied the charges against him.

He was found guilty of 26 charges of indecent assault, 15 of gross indecency with a child, four of buggery, two of sexual activity with a child and one attempted indecent assault.

Burgess was found not guilty of a single charge of indecent assault.

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Jurors were directed by a judge to find him not guilty on three charges after they were dropped by the prosecution in the trial.

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