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A man claims he was repeatedly sexually abused as a schoolboy by a priest who then killed himself before he could face justice.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claims that from the age of 12-years-old he was regularly abused by Father Ernest Sands, at St Josephs Seminary in Upholland, near Skelmersdale.

Father Sands was found hanged on the day he was due to report to police, on April 11, 2016, at an address in Oswestry.

He had been arrested the year before by Lancashire Police on suspicion of sexually abusing five boys including one at a Catholic seminary.

One of his alleged victims told the ECHO how during his time as a pupil at the school, in the 1980s, Father Sands would summon him to his private bedroom and force him to partake in oral sex.

The man claims his abuse began after taking singing lessons with Father Sands, who was a conductor and composer.

(Image: Scott Bradley)

He said: "I was a very good singer and he used to try out pieces of his music on me.

"The abuse started when on one occasion he was telling me how to breathe properly when I was singing.

"Then after that he would perform oral sex on me and make me do the same to him.

"It was very regular and horrendous."

The now 50-year-old said he was a "very naive" catholic boy and knew nothing of sex.

He added: "In that era sex wasn't talked about at home or at school.

"I knew what was happening was wrong, but I didn't really know what it was and I knew I couldn't speak about it.

"I felt very alone and very miserable.

(Image: Scott Bradley)

"I didn't tell my parents, they were devout catholics and something like this to them would have seemed inconceivable.

"I tried to tell my dad when I was 15, but I just couldn't and sadly he died when I was 18 and I never got the chance to tell him.

"I don't remember him [Father Sands] ever saying anything like 'if you tell, this will happen to you' but I just knew I couldn't tell anyone.

"I was sent little notes in lessons which would be summoning me to his room, so I assumed the person who was sending those notes knew it was happening and it wasn't being discouraged."

Priest Michael Higginbottom was also this year jailed for 18 years for the sexual abuse of two teenage boys at St Joseph’s College - in the 1970s and 80s.

And the ECHO uncovered how at least three Catholic priests have been accused of abusing children at the facility in West Lancashire, with several pupils having reported horrifying mistreatment at the hands of clergy who they should have been able to trust.

The former pupil said: "I have never believed that the Church was involved in a conspiracy to sacrifice young children to priests; but the fact remains that pedophiles from many denominations and walks of life have worn clerical collars or uniforms to fulfill their fantasies and in doing so have ruined lives.

(Image: Scott Bradley)

"The idea that pupils used to sleep in dorms, in such close proximity to each other and these terrible things were happening to us and yet no-one talked to each other about it is horrifying.

"There were a couple of priests who were really kind to us but there were paedophile priests who hid behind a dog collar."

The alleged victim claims his abuse stopped at the age of 16, when he bravely rejected the advances of Father Sands.

He said: "I remembers on one occasion I was sitting playing a piano and he came over and sat next to me and tried to touch me and I just pushed him away.

"That was the end of it - the abuse stopped and it was never spoken of again."

However for 30 years the pupil claims how he suffered with terrifying demons, due to the alleged abuse he had suffered.

(Image: Scott Bradley)

He told the ECHO how for years he struggled to figure out his sexuality and desperately tried to block out what he said happened to him.

And it took him until the age of 46 to finally speak out and report the incident to police after he saw a picture of Father Sands on Facebook.

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He said: "I actually wrote him a letter, but I never sent it to him.

"I look back at my year book picture and I saw a child that had become a very shy, insular and really quite cross little boy.

"I didn't enjoy my childhood and that was down to him.

"It was bizarre how I finally decided to report him.

"I started to work with someone and by complete coincidence it turned out we knew each other and he had in fact been in the year below me at the college

(Image: Scott Bradley)

"We both joined Facebook pages from the college and a photo was posted which showed my abuser.

"I had completely blocked him out of my memory and I wrote underneath it 'I never thought I would see him again'

"And the guy from the college asked 'what happened?' and I told him and to be honest he made a bit of a joke about it and what followed was a major breakdown and it just all came out.

"I decided that I needed to do something positive."

What to do if you are the victim of a sexual crime There is help out there for victims of rape and sexual assault and other sexual crimes. The NHS recommends a range of services and support networks which are gathered on the NHS Choices website. Merseyside Police have specially trained officers who are experienced in investigating sexual assaults in the most sensitive way. If you’d like to report online, rather than speaking to an officer by telephone in the first instance, you can use Merseyside Police's online crime reporting service which is secure and confidential. If you’d like to talk to someone, the national non-emergency telephone number is staffed 24/7 and can be reached by calling 101. For emergency calls contact call 999 Information on the services offered locally is gathered on Merseyide Police's website. Charities offering advice include rapecrisis and safeline.

The man said he reported the incident to police and was interviewed at length however Father Sands killed himself before he reported to police.

The man said: "I felt a mixture of emotions when I heard he had died.

"I felt quite sorry for him because I had had the same suicidal thoughts for years.

"I had planned to kill myself in the grounds of the college and I hoped that when I was found dead in the trees someone would also find my note and he would see it and feel horrendously guilty for what he had done to me as a child.

"But I hated him for the fact he denied me justice, that he didn't have the courage to stand up and face me.

"He should have had to answer me and he decided he couldn't do that.

"He denied me some form of closure."

(Image: Scott Bradley)

Despite the huge blow to the investigation against Father Sands his alleged victim said telling someone what he said happened was a "huge weight lifted off his shoulders".

And now at the age of 50 he is in a "really good place".

He said: "My life fell apart but I am incredibly lucky that I have been able to tackle some horrendous demons and come out the other side.

"I have been able to draw a line in the sand under what happened.

"I am 50 years old but my life has started again.

"I have a great job, great friends and family.

"Forming relationships is extremely difficult for me. I married my third wife last year and she is the only person that knows the full details of everything that happened.

"It often still terrifies me and I do have nightmares.

"I know that the world has changed for the better now and that people can speak out.

"The anger I felt is still there but the upset has gone."

The alleged victim was represented by Siobhan Crawford of Bolt Burdon Kemp Solicitors who filed a claim for compensation which was settled outside of court.

The alleged victim received £35,000.

The man said: "If anyone has suffered abuse - my advice would be, be strong.

"There are people that will support you to get justice.

"I know from what I have gone through that they will be struggling and will have done for years like I did.

"But by being truthful to yourself you will be free."

(Image: Scott Bradley)

A spokesperson for The Diocese of Shrewsbury said: “All allegations of sexual abuse by priests and sacred ministers are taken extremely seriously by the Diocese of Shrewsbury.

“The Diocese would like to assure any victims of our prayers and to express its total commitment to ensuring the safety of all children and vulnerable adults in its parishes, schools and institutions.

"As part of this commitment, the Diocese seeks always to act fully in accordance with the national Catholic Church safeguarding procedures.

“During the course of criminal investigations into abuse allegations against Fr Ernest Sands, the Diocese at all times cooperated fully with the statutory authorities, including the police.”