A church employee who sexually attacked youngsters as young as seven has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after the widow of one of his victims claimed the kid committed himself after disclosing his abuse.
Richard Owen, a 71-year-old choirmaster and church organist, started his prison term today after being found guilty of abusing 14 boys during sexually explicit corporal punishment beatings.
Between 1970 and 1998, Owen, a man from Hale near Altrincham in Greater Manchester, confessed to 27 allegations of sexual abuse against youngsters as young as seven.
One of his victims committed himself in 2019 after suffering from years of stress as a result of the abuse, which lasted for 28 years. This allowed the abuse to go unreported.
The victim, who was just eleven at the time, opted to remain quiet about his ordeal until he confided in his wife in 2019.
His spouse testified at Chester Crown Court that he was so upset when disclosing his “secret” that he could not breathe.
A mere two weeks after coming out about the assault, the 39-year-old committed suicide.
The victim’s widow delivered a statement during the two-day sentencing hearing on behalf of her deceased spouse.
It stated: “He committed himself barely two weeks after telling me about the abuse he had experienced.
He said that it was a secret he had been keeping for 30 years while breaking down in tears and finding it difficult to breathe.
She said that the effect of Owen’s atrocities could be seen in the inability of her husband to share his own tale, who was a music teacher and the head of a prep school in Berkshire.
She said, “As a result of this, I am a widow, and my two daughters, ages eight and six, lost their father.
They struggle to comprehend why all of their pals have father figures, but they do not.
He was a gifted vocalist and music instructor who made it his life’s work to assist kids in overcoming their challenges.
As a safeguarding officer for his school, the victim took his job “extremely seriously, protecting children in a manner he had not been protected himself,” according to his wife.
He wouldn’t allow history to repeat itself, she said.
Although Owen’s coping strategies for dealing with his prior trauma started to break down, his misdeeds will not define him as long as justice is done.
“We hope that finally we may find some closure and let go of the darkness that these atrocities have cast over us for so long.”
The court had previously been informed that Owen, real name Franklin Stanowski, preyed on children while serving as choirmaster and organist at numerous churches in Cheshire and Greater Manchester.
He would hit and cane kids in his car, a church vestry, and while they were camping in Wales.
By bribing the choristers with candy, scratch cards, cigarettes, booze, and money, he helped them develop.
One victim recalled how Owen would say, “It’s that time,” then slap him while saying, “Naughty boy!”
The lads were sometimes nude and other times they were dressed when Owen would use a cane or slap them for sex.
Following an allegation that he had struck two boys while serving as a school truancy officer in 1983, Owen was prosecuted using his birth name.
Later, he was placed on probation before being hired by a new church, where he legally changed his name to Owen.
“The defendant continuously exploited his position of trust throughout several years at numerous churches around Cheshire,” said prosecutor Maria Masselis.
He was between the ages of 18 and 44 at the time.
The defendant would isolate youngsters, intimidate or bribe them to enable him to slap or cane their buttocks, sometimes while they were dressed and other times when they were nude, all the while getting overt sexual gratification.
The circumstances constituted a “particularly awful violation of trust toward the children and their parents,” with 14 victims.
After joining the choir at St. John’s Church in Altrincham in 1987, Owen was introduced to the headmaster when he was only seven years old.
Owen had been hired to teach music at a nearby CofE primary school thanks to his position at the church, and when they were on a school camping trip in Abergele, Wales, he mistreated the youngster.
“The defendant was infatuated with this specific complainant, and the victim disclosed to his family, including his wife, about being frequently spanked when he was between the ages of 11 and 14,” the prosecution said.
Sadly, two weeks later, he committed himself. One of the other victims said that although he did not at the time see the spanking as sexual, he endured it since he loved the social aspect of the choir.
“Another” compared the defendant’s strong response to the time they opted to quit the choir as young adolescents to a divorce.
He said that the defendant made the lads feel bad, as if their choice to quit the choir was a betrayal of him.
That victim was profoundly touched by the tragedy, expressing that he felt some responsibility and had failed him.
When a new vicar assumed leadership at St. John’s in 1998, Owen was asked to resign.
Later, he began working throughout the Caribbean at churches and schools.
2020 saw the start of the police investigation against him after a Chester Diocese protection official conducted an internal review and discovered prior accusations against Owen.
He was questioned eight times, during which he confessed to the assault and said he felt “shame and regret.”
He said that he would seem to be in a committed heterosexual relationship, and he acknowledged that he submitted a false application for a job in the Caribbean, according to Miss Masselis.
He went there because it was acceptable to use corporal punishment.
Another victim of assault 40 years ago said in a statement: “I have long-term psychological and emotional harm.”
The strain of keeping it a secret for so many years has now caught up with it.
It has hampered my capacity to form deep connections. I consider myself to be forever traumatized and feel useless.
Defense attorney Richard Gurney offered this explanation for Owen, who overdosed on the day of his arrest: “He has expressed and continues to express regret and sorrow.”
In his letter, he describes his memories and emotions in vivid detail. Nothing I say is meant to lessen the severity of the offenses, but I advise against assuming that his misconduct was to blame for the victim’s suicide.
“You consistently and systematically assaulted children under your care and in areas for prayer, thought, and contemplation,” Judge Michael Leeming said Owen as he handed down his punishment.
Because of your position as choirmaster, the boys’ parents had put their faith in you. “What you did reflects a serious violation of that trust,” they said. The consequences of your willingness to violate that trust for your personal sexual enjoyment are still being felt now.
One victim, who had just confessed the assault two weeks earlier, committed suicide, leaving a wife and children behind. His wife revealed how much it had damaged him and how much she loved her much-loved husband.
“You have expressed self-loathing and made an apology to the victims and their families, but I only hope that you are sincere since your offense has wounded too many people,” the speaker said.
Additionally, Owen was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order that is set to expire in April 2030 and was instructed to permanently sign the Sex Offenders’ Register.
Visit Samaritans.org or dial the toll-free number 116 123 for assistance.