Dennis Finbow

A former priest in the Diocese of East Anglia, Dennis Finbow, has been sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment for historical sexual offences against children. The 77-year-old appeared at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday, October 10, 2024, where he was convicted on 15 counts of indecent assault involving five victims—three females and two males—some as young as eight and nine years old. The offences occurred between 1975 and 1992, during Finbow's time serving as a priest in locations including St Neots and Peterborough.

Finbow changed his plea to guilty in July 2024, admitting to the abuse that shattered the trust placed in him as a religious figure. The court heard powerful victim impact statements from the survivors, detailing the profound psychological effects on their mental health, personal relationships, and careers. One survivor described how the abuse had 'reverberated' through their life with devastating consequences.

In his sentencing remarks, the judge condemned Finbow, stating: 'You are a manipulative and predatory paedophile' and 'it is difficult to imagine a greater perversion of the role that you held and the ministry you were meant to be engaging in'. In addition to the custodial sentence, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order was imposed, and Finbow will remain on the sex offenders' register for life.

This sentencing follows Finbow's earlier 2023 conviction for multiple offences related to the sexual abuse of a young girl in the 1980s while working in Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, for which he is already serving a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence. The Catholic Church removed his clerical status after those convictions. The Diocese of East Anglia cooperated fully with Cambridgeshire Police in the investigation, as confirmed by Bishop Peter Collins, who reiterated support for victims of child sexual abuse.

Abuse lawyer Hayley Chapman-Todd, representing one of the survivors, noted: 'Although today’s sentence will not erase the harm caused, it brings a measure of justice for Finbow’s survivors who have waited a long time to see Finbow held accountable.' She also highlighted questions about how Finbow was able to perpetrate the abuse for so long within the Church.