GEOFFREY BAULCOMB, FORMER EASTBOURNE CHURCH OF ENGLAND VICAR, ADMITS TO CHILD SEX ABUSE AND EXTREME PORNOGRAPHY
A retired Church of England vicar named Geoffrey Baulcomb has confessed to possessing and distributing child sexual abuse images along with extreme pornography.The 79-year-old was found with videos and pictures of children during a police raid on his cottage in Eastbourne in December 2022.
Baulcomb pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey court on Tuesday to multiple charges, including distributing an indecent image of a child in March 2022, creating over 40 indecent images of children, and possessing nearly 200 images involving extreme pornography.
Court documents describe that the images uncovered showed a naked 13-year-old girl performing a sexual act on a man, boys aged between 14 and 16, adults engaging in sexual acts with animals, and content featuring threats to life and bodily harm.
Judge Nigel Lickley KC acknowledged Baulcomb's guilty plea and stated that he would be sentenced at a later date, with a further hearing scheduled for next month.
Although Baulcomb retired from his position at St Mary the Virgin Church in Eastbourne several years ago, he remained an ordained priest until he was defrocked last August.
The disciplinary tribunal criticized his attempt to justify drug use as part of his ministry, describing it as a fundamental misunderstanding of his Holy Orders.
During the police raid, officers also discovered crystal meth and ketamine at his residence.
At that time, Baulcomb had been asked by the Bishop of Chichester to cease attending his local church.
He has been released on conditional bail and is due to appear in court again on May 2.
