Locations
Old Canal, Southsea, Hampshire, PO4
Description
Maxwell Hallahan, a retired Church of England Vicar has today been sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court to 21 months for a series of offences against a boy while he was the vicar at Saint Faiths Church in Cowes (Isle of Wight). He will be subject to a 10 years notification on the Sex Offender Register and subject to a Safeguarding order.
Following sentencing, Senior Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in Wessex Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit (Rasso), Richard Powell said: Maxwell Hallahan abused his position of authority as vicar in his parish. He abused the boy, who is now an adult but was only 13 years of age when the abuse started, for a period of approximately three years between 1974 and 1977.
Hallahan had already been convicted of similar offences in 2011. There is no doubt that he is a sexual predator who did not hesitate to take advantage of his position as a pillar of the society at the time to abuse young boys. The victim in this case has shown great courage in coming forward after living with the memory of the abuse for all these years.
This, we hope, will encourage anyone who has been the victim of such crime to report it to the police. CPS Wessex Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit works very closely with the police and relentlessly to bring these types of cases to court. We trust that this prosecution will bring some closure to the victim of this horrible crime.
If your or a loved one have been subject to abuse please do not hesitate to contact our specialist child abuse solicitorS. We will treat any communications with the strictest of confidence.