FREDERICK LINALE SHOCKS BECKENHAM AND SOUTH LONDON WITH SEXUAL ABUSE SCANDAL

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the community, Frederick Linale, a man who once held the title of archbishop within the Old Roman Catholic Church, was sentenced to a decade behind bars for heinous sexual offenses committed over a span of five years. The crimes involved two teenage boys, and the details of his manipulative and predatory behavior were laid bare during the proceedings at the Old Bailey.

According to court reports, Linale, aged 59, initially gained the trust of his young victims by showering them with gifts and attention. However, this facade soon gave way to threatening phone calls and coercive tactics aimed at maintaining control over the impressionable youths. Judge Graham Boal condemned Linale’s abuse of his religious position, emphasizing the betrayal of trust inherent in his actions. The judge stated, “You abused your position as a priest and pastor and betrayed their trust. I am driven to the conclusion you constitute a real danger to impressionable and vulnerable young men.”

It was revealed that Linale had led a duplicitous life for many years, meticulously documenting his sordid activities in a diary written in Latin and Greek. Despite publicly presenting himself as a religious leader, he maintained a secret life that included possessing pornographic videos at his residence and frequenting a gay shop in Soho. His reputation in the community of Penge, south London, was built on his claims of being the British archbishop of the Old Roman Catholic Church, a denomination that broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the 18th century following disagreements among bishops in Holland.

The first victim, a 16-year-old boy, was introduced to Linale through an advertisement in the Church Times. An unsettling and obsessive relationship developed between the two, with Linale inviting the youth to hotels near Felixstowe, Suffolk. During these meetings, Linale offered alcohol and engaged in inappropriate physical contact. The situation escalated when Linale ordained the boy as a priest within his church—a sham act that came with a price. When left alone, the youth was again subjected to indecent assault. Attempts by the boy to distance himself from Linale resulted in his family being harassed with nuisance calls, further illustrating the manipulative tactics employed by the priest.

The second victim was only 12 years old when he first encountered Linale. This boy, from a single-parent household, was vulnerable due to his mother’s battle with cancer and his brother’s terminal illness from HIV. Linale showered him with money, clothing, and expensive gifts, effectively paying him for sexual acts. The prosecution highlighted that Linale exploited the boy’s fragile circumstances to carry out his abuse. When the boy was sent to a boarding school, Linale went to great lengths to track him down, hiring a private detective—funded by church resources—and making nuisance calls to the young boy.

Throughout the trial, Linale denied five counts of indecent assault, attempted buggery, and attempting to pervert the course of justice. He maintained that he was recognized by the Old Roman Catholic Church as the Archbishop of the British Isles, a claim that was met with skepticism. A spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Media Office in London clarified that the ORCC had separated from Rome in the 18th century after disagreements among bishops in Holland, distancing themselves from mainstream Catholic authority.

Frederick Linale’s case has cast a long shadow over the community in Beckenham and the wider south London area, raising serious questions about trust, authority, and the safeguarding of vulnerable individuals within religious institutions.