Priest Cleared of Sex Abuse Charges

A priest has been cleared of the sexual abuse of two boys in Bury.

Father John McCollough, 63, had been accused of preying on the youngsters while a minister at Holy Trinity Church in the 1990s.

But after a two week trial at Bolton Crown Court he was found not guilty of 11 counts of indecent assault and one charge of gross indecency.

Both youngsters, now adults, claimed he had abused them by touching them sexually on numerous occassions.

But the clergyman told the jury the alleged victims had colluded and were making the allegations to get compensation.

The jury of seven men and five women retired to consider their verdicts on Friday and returned to clear the accused of all the charges in the afternoon.

Fr McCollough is currently a priest at St Vincent’s Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.… Read the rest