The victim, now in his 30s and with a family,
said a bishop told him not to continue "his silly talk" when he
originally complained 25 years ago.
That was despite the fact Malcolm McLennan
already had convictions for gross indecency and had been the subject of
complaints alleging he had abused boys at another parish before being
moved to St Simon Stock Church in Walderslade.
McLennan, now 69, appeared at Medway
Magistrates' Court this week where he admitted indecent assault against a
minor. He has been sent to the crown court to be sentenced.
He already has convictions dating back to the
1970s for indecency involving having sex with men in public toilets and
in 2009 admitted indecent assaults involving three boys at another
church.
He was jailed for 18 months and placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.
Following his latest admission, the victim
has spoken out about the devastating effect the abuse had on his life
and has strongly criticised the church for the way his allegations were
dismissed.
He said he finally reported his attacker to police following the Jimmy Savile scandal.
The man - who cannot be identified for legal
reasons - said: "It's disgusting for a religious organisation to not
protect the welfare of all its parishioners, especially children.
"It seems as soon as an allegation came to
light he was just moved from parish to parish, he should have been
stopped from being a priest."
McLennan admitted molesting an altar boy at a church in Medway around 25 years ago when he appeared in court on Monday.
Medway magistrates heard how the then Father
Frederick Malcolm McLennan put his hands down the boy's pants and
fondled him when he was a teenager at St Simon Stock Church.
McLennan was known as Father Malcolm and was an assistant priest at the church in Bleakwood Drive, Chatham.
He now works as an infirmary assistant looking after monks at an Abbey in Gloucestershire.
Alcoholic McLennan committed the offence
between December 1987 and January 1989 while the boy was changing into
his ceremonial robes.
The court also heard he had previously been
an assistant priest at a church in Tunbridge Wells in the mid-1980s and
indecently assaulted three choir boys there.
In 2009, McLennan appeared at Maidstone Crown
Court where he admitted indecently assaulting the youths at St
Augustine's Catholic Church.
He abused them at a children's video club, which he ran in his sitting room. Two of the boys he abused were brothers.
A third boy did not make a complaint, but McLennan eventually made a confession that led to one of the charges.
He was jailed for 18 months for the three indecent assaults and placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.
He already had convictions for gross indecency dating back to 1973, 1977 and 1989 involving offences in public toilets with men.
In court this week, prosecutor Debbie Jones
said while the altar boy was getting changed McLennan would brush past
him and cuddle him.
She added: "He came up to him and put one arm round him and then put his hand down the front of his pants.
"A few weeks later the defendant took the
boy's hand and tried to place it on his penis. It was then the boy ran
off and spoke to others."
The court also heard the incident was
reported to the senior priest at the church, Father Ernest, who then
apparently reported it to the area bishop.
However, when the bishop saw the boy, he told him he did not want to hear any more of his "silly talk".
It is believed both the bishop and Father Ernest are now dead.
The incident was not reported to the police
at the time, but the boy eventually reported the matter to police and
McLennan was arrested in December last year.
The prosecutor added: "During interview he
told police he couldn't recall the boy and said he never touched him,
but has entered a guilty plea today.
"He has similar convictions for historic matters which only recently came to light [in 2009]."
Magistrates also heard that several weeks
after the incident, McLennan, now of Teal Close, Quedgeley, Gloucester,
left the parish and did not return to the priesthood.
Luke Mayer, defending, said: "He does not
recall very much from that time as he was a very heavy alcoholic. He
left a few weeks after this and spent four months in rehab.
"He has now been alcohol-free for 23 years and has completely changed.
"He had a meeting with the bishop at the time
but the church did not take the matter further, which was not unusual
in the 1980s."
Magistrates sent McLennan to Maidstone Crown Court for sentencing.
Craig Mackinlay, chairman of the bench, said: "This is a serious matter, you were in a position of trust."
McLennan was granted bail until his sentencing.
After the case, Archbishop of Southwark Peter
Smith said: "The Archdiocese of Southwark is aware that Malcolm
McLennan has pleaded guilty to indecent assault of a minor during the
period 1987 to 1989, when he was assistant priest in the parish of St
Simon Stock, Walderslade.
"The Archdiocese greatly regrets the suffering that has been caused to those affected by Malcolm McLennan's behaviour.
"McLennan, who lives in Gloucestershire, was
removed from public ministry in 1989 at the time of his conviction for
gross indecency and formerly stripped of the priesthood (laicised) in
2011.
"It was reported at that time that he had previous convictions of which the Archdiocese was unaware."
The Archbishop added: "The Archdiocese has
co-operated fully with the police in their investigations since the
first allegation against Malcolm McLennan was received in December
2006."