LONDON: A Catholic priest was on Friday found guilty by a British jury of sexually assaulting a teenage girl, after a trial in which he sought to use his secret marriage as part of his defence.
William Finnegan, 59, was found guilty at Bradford Crown Court in northern England of forcefully kissing the 17-year-old and touching her bottom, and the judge warned he may now go to jail.
During the trial, the priest known as 'Father Bill' revealed to the court and his diocese in Bradford that he had broken his vow of celibacy in 1999 by secretly marrying a former parishoner, Beverley Dawson.
The couple, who wed in a civil ceremony in Cyprus, never permanently lived together but saw each other regularly and had a sexual relationship, the court heard.
Each week after Finnegan finished church services on Sunday he would visit her, then go back to work on Tuesday, Dawson told the court.
The revelation was made as part of Finnegan's defence, with his lawyer attempting to reject the stereotype of a sexually frustrated man whose feelings got the better of him.
Finnegan had denied forcing himself on the girl, who cannot be named, telling the court she had kissed him in April last year.
However, the jury returned a verdict of guilty.
Judge Roger Thomas said his options for sentencing, which will take place on April 11, "range from immediate imprisonment to other arrangements of a community nature".
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