Retired bishop held in abuse probe

Nov 13 2012

A retired Church of England bishop is among two clergymen arrested by police investigating historic allegations of child sex abuse within the scandal-hit Diocese of Chichester.

Peter Ball, 80, was held at his home near Langport, Somerset, on suspicion of eight sex offences against eight boys and young men aged from 12 to their early 20s in East Sussex and elsewhere in the late 1980s and 1990s, sources said.

A second man, an unnamed 67-year-old retired priest, was also detained at his home near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, on suspicion of separate sex offences against two teenage boys in East Sussex between 1981 and 1983, Sussex Police said.

Keep up to date with the news. Sign up for News Alerts

Have your say on the latest news and sport in our Forums