FORMER priest Eugene Fitzpatrick has been jailed for 22 years for historical sex abuse, and detectives are urging any further victims to come forward.

Fitzpatrick, 68, of Raymond Avenue, Canterbury was convicted at Blackfriars Crown Court on Thursday, May 25 of seven counts of indecent assault, four counts of indecency with a child and two counts of buggery.

He was sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment the following day.

The offences took place between the 1960s and 1990s.

The indecent assaults and indecency offences were committed against one victim in the Islington area throughout the 1960s and 1970s.


The first assault took place in Tufnell Park in 1965 when Fitzpatrick was 17 years old and the boy was under the age of 8.

The buggery offences were committed against a second victim between 1986 and 1992 while Fitzgerald was working at Our Lady & Saint Joseph Catholic Church in the borough of Hackney.

Detective Constables Lorraine Simpson and Klementina Balint, the investigating officers, said: "Eugene Fitzpatrick is a predatory sex offender who abused his position of trust, preying on vulnerable youngsters and subjecting them to horrific sexual abuse over a period of years.

"In addition to the two known victims in this case, I believe that there may be additional survivors of Fitzpatrick’s actions who continue to suffer in silence.

"I urge anyone who has been abused by Eugene Fitzpatrick to contact police without delay.

"Specially trained officers will support victims throughout the investigative process and there are a number of additional support pathways that we are able to signpost."

Anyone who thinks they are a victim of Eugene Fitzpatrick is asked to contact the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command by dialling 101.