UK priest resigns from parish church after being arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a child

Daily Mail - UK December 18, 2010

Priest quits from parish church over 'sex attack' allegations

By MAIL ON SUNDAY REPORTER



A Catholic priest has stepped down from his job after being arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a child.

Monsignor Michael Smith, 63, the parish priest at Corpus Christi Church in Tonbridge, Kent, was arrested on December 7 and has been bailed pending further enquiries.

The Archbishop of Southwark Peter Smith, who took Mass at the church last weekend, told the congregation that it was ‘with great sadness’ that he had to inform them that ‘an allegation had been made against Monsignor Smith concerning a young person’.

A spokesman for Kent Police confirmed that a 63-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and is currently on bail.


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