A FURNITURE dealer has been handed a suspended prison sentence following his conviction for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
David Richard Hick’s offence of trying to protect a Catholic priest from abuse allegations by visiting the mother of the complainant and telling her “this has to be stopped” led to a sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for the next 18 months, from the Royal Court.
The court heard that after learning of the allegations against his friend, Father Piotr Glas, Hick (70) had immediately driven to the family home of the complainant, seeking to persuade her to talk to her adult child about alleged abuse dating from their childhood.
Commissioner Patricia Lees, presiding at the sentencing hearing alongside Jurats Averty and Gardener, told Hick that in seeking to bend the will of a friend, he had committed a “very cruel act indeed”.
“You tried to exploit [the woman’s] deep faith to get her to do what you wanted,” the judge said.
Crown Advocate Carla Carvalho, prosecuting, said that at the trial, Hick had accepted attending the woman’s home on two occasions, telling her that “God would not want this”, later explaining from the witness box that he meant “that God would not want all the good that Fr Peter did to be wiped out”.
Advocate Mark Boothman, defending, said Hick was “devastated” at the decision he had made to visit the woman and had “learned a huge lesson”.
Ms Lees said that the offence was very serious and would usually result in an immediate custodial sentence, but that the court was taking account of the remorse expressed by Hick, his previous good character, and the mental health difficulties that had caused his case to be delayed on several occasions before he was assessed as being fit to stand trial.
The suspended sentence was accompanied by restraining orders that Hick must not contact the woman or the complainant for five years, and an order for costs of £5,000.
Following his conviction in April 2025 for multiple acts of gross indecency, Fr Glas was granted leave to appeal against the conviction, with a retrial ordered by the Court of Appeal and scheduled for January 2026.
