A 61-year-old former Church of England vicar has been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment at Chester Crown Court after admitting to involving a child in sexual activity with his mistress.
Stephen Clapham was arrested by Cheshire Constabulary in 2021 following an investigation triggered when the young victim disclosed the sexual abuse to staff members at school.
The prosecution detailed that Clapham commenced an affair with co-defendant Sally Shaw, 52, in 2016 while he was ministering at All Saints Church in Crewe. The relationship persisted following his transfer to take up the post of vicar at All Saints Church in Church Lawton. The court heard that Clapham exploited his standing, authority, and pastoral trust within the community to facilitate the abuse.
Evidence presented showed that Clapham and Shaw engaged in sexual activity in the presence of the child and repeatedly incited the child to participate. Furthermore, Shaw took indecent images of the child and sent them directly to Clapham.
Clapham entered guilty pleas to the charges at Chester Crown Court.
Sentencing him, the judge addressed the grave violation of trust inherent in his role as a parish priest and the profound impact on the child, handing Clapham an immediate custodial sentence of four years’ imprisonment.
The court also ordered that Clapham comply with notification requirements on the Sex Offenders Register for life, made him subject to a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order containing strict monitoring prohibitions, and issued an indefinite restraining order preventing any contact with the victim.
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