Febuary 2009

Alert on a paedo who lives near kids

A PAEDOPHILE priest who preyed on his victims as they lay sick in hospital is living in Britain

Father Ivan Payne, 65, who molested children in Dublin from 1968-87, was convicted in 1998 of sexually abusing eight boys. He was freed from jail in 2002.

Now he lives in Aderdare, South Wales — less than a mile from a primary school.

When confronted, he said: “The police here and in Ireland both know I am here. I am in communication with the Catholic church. I have not re-offended.”

But a source close to the local Catholic church said: “He committed horrendous crimes. His neighbours will not know about his background. To them he will seem like a nice old man.”

A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Dublin refused to comment.