ADRIAN MCLEISH'S SHOCKING CHILD ABUSE IN GILESGATE AND WALLSEND REVEALED

In a disturbing case that has sent shockwaves through the communities of Gilesgate and Wallsend, Adrian Mcleish, a former priest with a long history of child abuse, has been brought back into custody following new allegations from a recent victim. The details of his heinous actions, spanning over decades, paint a grim picture of betrayal and exploitation by someone entrusted with spiritual guidance.

It all began in the early 1990s when Mcleish was serving as a priest in Wallsend. His first known assault on a young boy reportedly occurred in April 1990, marking the start of a pattern of predatory behavior. The following year, in August 1991, he relocated to St Joseph’s in Gilesgate, Durham, after a break-in at his previous presbytery in Wallsend. During this incident, a stolen video was used in an attempt to blackmail him, raising suspicions about his involvement in inappropriate activities. Allegations of concerns being raised to Bishop Owen Swindlehurst about Mcleish’s potential involvement in child pornography surfaced around this time.

By December 1995, police executed a raid on St Joseph’s presbytery in Gilesgate, uncovering an astonishing collection of 6,000 obscene photographs of children—an unprecedented find that was described as the largest collection of child sexual abuse images ever discovered at the time. This investigation was linked to a broader international paedophile ring, which included arrests in the United States, Sweden, New Zealand, and across Europe. During the probe, authorities traced an email address associated with Mcleish to a suspect’s residence in Germany, further implicating him in a global network of child exploitation.

In January 1996, Mcleish was arrested following an investigation by child protection police and social workers. He subsequently admitted to 12 charges of indecent assault involving four different boys, with incidents dating from April 1990 to January 1996. His crimes were not limited to physical abuse; he was also accused of importing child pornography videos from the Netherlands, which he possessed and distributed. The police seized four powerful computers from his presbytery, filled with thousands of images and stories depicting child abuse, some of which he had built himself. These materials were so extensive that they could be compared to the contents of an encyclopedia.

In April 1996, Mcleish pleaded guilty to the charges at Newcastle Crown Court and was sentenced to six years in prison. His criminal activities did not end there. In September of the same year, he admitted to possessing and distributing obscene photographs of children via the internet, with police uncovering additional evidence of his involvement in a worldwide child abuse network. His computers contained thousands of images, many of which were pornographic, and he had used these devices to communicate with other paedophiles globally.

Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, further investigations revealed the extent of Mcleish’s depravity. Victims and their families took legal action against the church, claiming negligence on the part of church officials who failed to act on prior warnings. In 2001, the church paid compensation to some victims, and new guidelines were issued to prevent future abuse. Despite these measures, Mcleish’s criminal record continued to grow.

Fast forward to recent years, and the story takes a darker turn. In 2017, Mcleish, then aged 65 and residing in Buckinghamshire, was convicted of attempting to produce an indecent photograph of a child. The latest victim, who was just 10 years old at the time, came forward after reading about celebrity sex abuse cases in the press. The young boy had been vulnerable, especially after the sudden death of his father, and Mcleish exploited this vulnerability during a visit to his accommodation at a Tyneside church.

According to court reports, Mcleish sat the boy on his knee, showed him pictures of cherubs and angels on his computer, and persuaded him to remove his lower clothing under the false pretense of making him “innocent like the angels.” When the boy became distressed, Mcleish told him not to tell anyone, especially his mother, citing her recent grief as a reason for secrecy. The victim, who kept silent for years, eventually confided in a colleague after reading about similar cases involving celebrities, which triggered painful memories.

At Newcastle Crown Court, Judge Paul Sloan QC described Mcleish’s actions as a “gross breach of trust,” emphasizing the long-lasting harm inflicted on the victim. The judge highlighted that the incident had a profound impact on the young man’s confidence, relationships, health, and mental well-being, leading him to seek counseling. The judge also pointed out that Mcleish’s position as a parish priest at the time made his betrayal even more egregious.

Mcleish, now living in Hillfield Square, Chalfont St Peter, Gerrard’s Cross, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for attempting to produce an indecent image of a child. This sentence was to run concurrently with a two-year term he received in February for possessing, making, and distributing indecent images between 2006 and 2016. His criminal history includes a 1996 conviction for 22 offences, including 12 indecent assaults on boys and multiple charges related to child pornography, for which he was sentenced to five years in prison.

His crimes were initially uncovered through an international investigation that traced his online activities across the globe, eventually leading to Germany and back to Durham. Authorities found that Mcleish used three powerful computers to maintain contact with hundreds of other paedophiles, exchanging messages that detailed his depraved acts. The investigation revealed thousands of images and stories, some of which mentioned specific children he had abused in Tyneside and Durham City.

Despite his extensive criminal record, Mcleish is not on the sex offenders’ register because his crimes predate the register’s establishment in 1997. His case remains a stark reminder of the devastating impact of child abuse and the importance of vigilance within institutions entrusted with protecting vulnerable children.