Priest guilty of indecent assault

Anglican priest John Tovey, 64, has pleaded guilty to two charges of indecent assault.

The Anglican Church is distancing itself from a Napier priest who pleaded guilty to indecent assault charges.

John Hamilton Tovey, 64, entered guilty pleas to two charges of indecent assault in Napier District Court yesterday.

The alleged offending occurred in Napier between April last year and January 2.

The charges relate to the same alleged female victim. A third charge, for sexual violation, was withdrawn yesterday.

Tovey was remanded on bail to be sentenced on September 17.

No application for name or image suppression was made when he appeared in court.

The Napier man was a vicar in North Canterbury and a priest in charge at Churton Park in Wellington for five years, and a vicar in Wainuiomata for more than 10 years, before he moved to Hawke's Bay in 2010 to take up the associate priest role in the Taradale parish.

The Anglican Church's Auckland-based communications and media adviser, Reverend Jayson Rhodes, declined to comment when contacted by Hawke's Bay Today yesterday.

He referred this newspaper to an earlier statement made by Bishop Hedge when Tovey was initially charged.

It said Tovey was stripped indefinitely of his "permission to officiate" by the Bishop of Waiapu, Andrew Hedge, when the Bishop became aware of the allegations against him - a decision made "independently of any other inquiries or entities".

This means he is not licensed or authorised by the Bishop to undertake any priestly duties.

The Waiapu Diocese, in which Tovey is a priest, is overseen by Bishop Hedge and covers Hawke's Bay and the Bay of Plenty.

"This is a time for prayer for the community and for John and his family," the statement said.