The Bishop of Liverpool, John Perumbalath, is facing allegations of sexual assault and harassment from two women, one of whom is a female bishop in the Church of England. The allegations, investigated by Channel 4 News, date back to 2019 and involve incidents in the Chelmsford diocese. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who was previously the Bishop of Chelmsford, is accused of a cover-up for knowing about the allegations before Bishop Perumbalath's enthronement in April 2023. Bishop Perumbalath denies the allegations and says he has taken lessons from the process.
The Church of England is tonight facing a new crisis after it emerged two women made allegations of a sexual nature against the Bishop of Liverpool.
Bishop Perumbalath, a married father-of-one, was voluntarily interviewed under caution by police last March, but the investigation was closed due to insufficient evidence. No charges have to date been brought. Two women have made separate allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment against the Bishop of Liverpool John Perumbalath, with one of the complainants a CoE female bishop
'I could feel his mouth pressing on my mouth. I could feel some of his saliva, and the texture of his beard around my mouth,' she said. In a statement issued to Channel 4 News, Bishop Perumbalath said the allegations 'are in relation to encounters that took place in public settings, with other people present'.'I have complied with any investigation from the National Safeguarding Team. The allegations raised in Essex were also investigated by the Police who took no further action.
The two women disclosed the allegations last year to Andrew Graystone, an advocate for survivors of abuse in the Church of England. Reverand Robert Thompson, who sits on the General Synod, the Church's ruling body, said it is also raises questions about Archibishop Cottrell's conduct. 'Either it seems that a complaint has been made to another bishop in which that bishop has not actually actioned the appropriate safeguarding measures, which would have been to step the bishop off from public administration until the proper investigation.'
CHURCH OF ENGLAND SEXUAL ASSAULT BISHOP ALLEGATIONS COVER UP
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