A RETIRED priest has been sentenced to six and a half years for sex offences against men and a teenage boy.

Vickery House has been sentenced this afternoon at The Old Bailey for indecent assaults on three men and a 14-year-old boy dating back to the 1970s.

The 69-year-old was convicted earlier this week of five counts of indecent assault on males - with one as young as 14 - over a period of 16 years.

He was cleared on three further counts.

During much of that time, House was vicar in Berwick, and worked under Peter Ball - who earlier this month was jailed for 32 months after he admitted molesting young men between 1977 and 1992.

The pair targeted young men and aspiring priests through a Church of England scheme called Give A Year For Christ with four members abused by both men, it can now be reported.

The scandal has been mired in accusations of an Establishment cover-up with former Bishop of Lewes and Gloucester Ball, 83, counting a member of the Royal Family among those who wrote letters of support before he was let off with a caution in 1993.

In September, after a last ditch attempt to get his case thrown out failed, Ball pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office and two counts of indecent assault on young men in their teens.