40 years in jail for "calculating and despicable" choirmaster

A former Portsmouth choirmaster is set to spend the rest of his life in prison for subjecting 13 children to sexual abuse over more than three decades.

Schoolteacher Mark Burgess has been jailed for 40 years for a string of offences while running choirs at St John's Church in Westbourne near Chichester and All Saints Church in Portsmouth between 1975 and 2009.

Burgess, 68, of St Chads Avenue in Hilsea, will serve a minimum of 21 years in jail before being considered for parole.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard that Burgess had previously been a music teacher as well as a choir master, vocations which had brought him into contact with children.

Burgess had taught at Portsmouth City Boys’ School

The court heard that, over the years, his attention became ‘fixed’ on a series of children.

Burgess then took advantage of his positions in the school and choir settings in order to get closer to these children and draw them, and sometimes their families, into his trust.

The assaults took place during piano lessons at Burgess’s home address or in the church vestry, in Burgess’s car, on choir trips out of county, and in the school music room.

After decades of keeping this a secret, the children, all now adults, found the confidence to report this abuse to the police.

In emotive statements read out in court, the survivors told of the damage Burgess had inflicted on so many lives, with one describing his abuser as a ‘festering, rancid boil’.

Others spoke of how Burgess manipulated, groomed, charmed and bribed his way into their lives for his own sexual pleasure.

Victims said Burgess was "abhorrent, deplorable, calculating and despicable"

One survivor, now an adult woman, told how the abuse at Burgess’s hands had affected her passion for music.

In a statement, she said: "This person helped me use my voice to make beautiful music, but I would become too ashamed to ever use it again."

Another, who was abused at the age of 13, told the court: "You took a bright, naive, funny, energetic child and you destroyed all of that in the most cynical and vile way.

"It has been a very difficult process, but I take courage and strength from the survivors here, and the love and support of my family."

Passing sentence, Judge William Ashworth commended the survivors in the case for coming forward.

He praised their ‘dignity, restraint and stunning openness’ in which they spoke about their experiences.

Detective Inspector Adam Edwards from Hampshire Police said: "Burgess made a choice to exploit his position and manipulate certain scenarios that would give him the opportunity to carry out these heinous and evil acts.

"These were young children, and he deliberately preyed on their naivety for his own sordid agenda.

"He is now behind bars, where he belongs, for a very long time.

"The survivors in this case have shown an incredible amount of bravery and strength throughout this entire process, which has ensured that the cowardly man who sat in the dock can’t hurt another person again.

"Their courage is to be commended. I am pleased that justice has now been served and these brave individuals have had their voices heard after years of keeping this abuse secret."