Woman says retired priest she accuses of sexually abusing her as a child was 'a master of winning people over'

A woman accusing a former priest of raping her in the mid-1970s described him as “a master of winning people over” at the trial at Aylesbury Crown Court.

The now-retired Father Francis McDermott, aged 75, is on trial at Aylesbury Crown Court, explain accused of sexually assaulting six children between 1971 and 1979.

He denies the charges.

At the trial yesterday, one of the complainants alleged that McDermott had sexually assaulted her two weeks before her 16th birthday.

The court heard that the victim kept a diary as a teenager where she recorded significant events in her life.

The complainant also alleged that McDermott was “moved on” after her mother made a complaint to the local church.

Father McDermott, now of Bideford in Cornwall but who moved between London, Aylesbury and High Wycombe in the 1970's, is charged with 18 counts of indecent assault, four counts of indecent assault on a male person, two counts of indecency with a child, one count of buggery and one count of rape. The former Priest denies the charges.

The trial continues.