A victim of sexual abuse by a Church of England priest has said she is “disgusted and appalled” by a decision not to hold a disciplinary hearing into the Archbishop of York’s handling of her abuser.

In 2024, a BBC investigation revealed that as the Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell had allowed David Tudor to remain in post as a vicar under him for nine years, despite knowing about his history of sexual misconduct.

On Thursday, the president of tribunals, a Church-appointed lawyer who rules on internal disciplinary matters, decided that Cottrell “had no power to remove or suspend David Tudor from ministry”.

One of Tudor’s victims says the decision “sends a deeply troubling message about accountability” at the top of the Church.

Allegations against David Tudor stretched across numerous decades from the 1980s onwards.

In 1988, Tudor was convicted of indecently assaulting three girls when he was a vicar and school chaplain in Surrey and was jailed for six months, but after serving his sentence had his conviction quashed on technical grounds.

Tudor had earlier been acquitted of indecently assaulting another 15-year-old school girl, although he had admitted to having sex with her when she was 16.

The new statement from the Church president of tribunals says David Tudor “had a sexual interest in teenage girls and was prepared to exploit his position to groom them, in gross breach of trust, with a view to a sexual relationship”.

“As a charismatic young vicar, he was well placed to abuse teenage girls in this way,” the judgement says.

In 1989, Tudor was banned for sexual misconduct by a Church tribunal, but five years later was allowed to return to ministry.

He eventually went on to become an area dean in charge of 12 parishes in Canvey Island in Essex.

Read More: Archbishop of York to face no action over sexual abuse case