A former bishop “exploited” his position as a church leader to sexually abuse a boy, a court has heard.
Anthony Pierce, 84, christened the boy as a baby, then abused him when he was between 14 and 15 years old
Pierce himself was in his late 40s at the time.
The offences date from the late 1980s, when Pierce, now 84, was a parish priest in Swansea’s West Cross.
He was later bishop of Swansea and Brecon from 1999 to 2008.
A police investigation was launched in 2023 after the victim disclosed the abuse to a Church in Wales safeguarding officer.
It later emerged that a separate allegation of sexual abuse by Pierce had been reported to senior figures in the church in 1993. However, the report was only passed on to police in 2010, by which time the alleged victim had died.
Pierce pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent assault on a male child under the age of 16 during a hearing at Swansea Crown Court in February.
Judge Catherine Richards jailed him for four years and one month at the same court on Wednesday morning.
The judge told Pierce that he was “trusted and respected” as a vicar by the parishioners of the church.
“That trust was misplaced. You abused one of the children of your parish. You had been involved in his life since you christened him,” she said.
“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.”
The judge said Pierce had “exploited” his position as a church leader.
Pierce will be registered as a sex offender indefinitely and barred from working or volunteering with children or vulnerable adults.
Prosecuting, Dean Pulling described how the abuse took place in the vicarage when Pierce was alone with the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
The victim felt “repelled” by what Pierce did to him, Mr Pulling said.
The victim read a statement to the court detailing the abuse and its devastating impact.
“I can remember feeling an overwhelming sense of embarrassment and shame,” he told the court.
“I couldn’t find the courage to say no.”
He said he had become dependant on alcohol from a teenager and had been left unable to form relationships.
The victim said he felt “vindicated” by Pierce’s guilty pleas: “I feel released from something that has had a hold on me for all these years.”
Heath Edwards, representing Pierce, who is now in failing health, said he “deeply regrets the behaviour”.
“There is every risk that this is a defendant who spends the rest of his life serving a custodial sentence,” he added.
The Church in Wales previously confirmed that Pierce will be referred to its disciplinary tribunal.
Following his guilty pleas, the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the Right Reverend John Lomas, said he would be asking the tribunal to consider deposing Pierce from Holy Orders – the most severe sanction available.
An independent external review into the allegations against Pierce in the 1990s has been commissioned by the church.
In a statement issued after the case, a spokesperson for the Church in Wales said: “The sentence which has been handed down reflects the shocking nature of these offences and the gross breach of trust which they represent.
“Anthony Pierce has abused his position, disgraced his church and, worst of all, has 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.”
