Senior Church of England bishop accused of groping and sexually harassing women
Senior Church of England bishop accused of groping and sexually harassing women
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A Church of England bishop responsible for overseeing discipline has been accused of sexually assaulting and sexually harassing two women. John Perumbalath, the Bishop of Liverpool, allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on several occasions between 2019 and 2023 while he was a bishop in Essex, Channel 4 News reports.
![[Bishop of Liverpool John Perumbalath (Picture: Facebook)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237715862-7964-e1738098651699.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Interim head of the church, Stephen Cottrell has been accused of a ‘cover up’ after it he was aware of the allegations before Perumbalath was enthroned as Bishop of Liverpool. ‘[Perumbalath] held me there and kissed me forcefully on my mouth, which I did not like and I did not want’, she said of the first alleged instance at an away day in March 2019.
![[FILE PHOTO: Archbishop of York Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell (L) and The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby walk in central London on September 14, 2022, ahead of the ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. JUSTIN TALLIS/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235090111-5a65.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
‘I tried to move away, but he was holding my head too tightly. I could feel his mouth pressing on my mouth. I could feel some of his saliva, and the texture of his beard around my mouth.’. On another occasion, in May 2022, she claimed Perumbalath ‘ran his hands past the side of [her] breasts… until he reached the edge of the areola’ after they hugged at the end of a meeting.
![[The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell following the Christmas Day Festal Eucharist service at York Minster. Picture date: Wednesday December 25, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story RELIGION York. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234219275-34ea-e1738098753821.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Describing another alleged encounter at a chapel music evening in January 2023, she said: ‘He pressed his face against my face, said “I love you” quietly in my ear, and moved his mouth to just below my ear, on the pulse point on my neck. ‘He opened his mouth, took a piece of my skin between his lips, and let go.’.
