This is the original article about Father Brennan as it appeared on the
website of The People in Britain 27.1.2003:
PRIEST CHILD SEX SHOCK
A TOP priest who runs an orphanage with National Lottery cash is exposed
today as a disgrace who is prepared to let wealthy paedophiles meet his
vulnerable boys.
Father Ray Brennan, who has preached in Westminster Cathedral and has
had over £400,000 from the National Lottery, shockingly turns a blind
eye to child molesters who want to visit his centre.
Father Brennan, 70, who has also rubbed shoulders with unwitting
Manchester United chiefs, claims to protect abandoned children from vice
in the sleazy Thai resort of Pattaya.
But a People investigation has uncovered the sickening hypocrisy of the
priest who is perfectly happy to...
INVITE wealthy paedophiles to meet street children in his care.
ALLOW perverts to take them out on picnics at the beach or public park.
DISCUSS the best places in town to pick up young boys.
ADVISE on how to avoid arrest and the best way to export any kiddie
videos they may have filmed.
We launched a three-month investigation into the apparently saintly
lifestyle of Brennan after a tip-off.
Our investigators used the bogus identity of a wealthy lottery winner
called Robert Merlin and his friend Kenneth Draper who wished to make a
large donation to the orphanage.
We corresponded with Brennan for months and told him we had regularly
visited Pattaya as sex tourists interested in young boys.
We expected an instant brush-off from the world-renowned priest who is
trustingly called Papa Ray by the 107 rescued kids in his care.
But Brennan ENCOURAGED us to visit him to discuss our donation.
In a phone call our investigator said: "I am very nervous about this
because I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a Thai jail."
Brennan replied: "Don't be nervous about anything."
Investigator: "Are you sure? I mean they call me a paedophile in England
and I'm so frightened of getting arrested."
Brennan: "I think you are over- worried about that."
Investigator: "I know the age of consent in Thailand is 15 years but I
like them slightly younger."
Brennan: "Yeah?
Investigator: "And you think I can find them do you?"
Brennan: "Absolutely"
Our man invited Brennan for a poolside lunch at his luxury hotel to
discuss the donation.
Investigator: "I was a bit apprehensive at first when we told you I have
an unhealthy interest in boys because I didn't want you to be upset."
Brennan: "It doesn't upset me."
Investigator: "I am shaking like a leaf because a few years ago I got
arrested out here and it cost me a lot of money to get out of trouble."
Brennan: "That must have been a bad experience."
Investigator: "I thought it would be better to be honest with you from
the outset."
Brennan: "I have been a priest here for a long time so none of this is
new to me."
Investigator: "OK."
Brennan: "It won't be any problem taking the kids out. You can certainly
do that."
Investigator: "But will they be supervised?"
Brennan: "We send teachers out with them, mostly to keep an eye on them
and make sure where they are."
Investigator: "Even though I have told you I like young boys you have no
problem in letting me take them out."
Brennan: "No, I have no problem with that. As I said to you things are
becoming a lot more difficult now with the police. They are especially
watching the young kids now. As long as you don't do anything stupid you
will be OK."
Brennan had no qualms about giving us advice on how to return to the UK
with suspect videos of children.
He said: "If you take any videos for yourself the best thing to do would
be to send them home in the mail because sometimes you get stopped at
the airport and as you know the police can now access computers."
He also discussed the risks of picking up boys in the street or trying
to take them back to hotel rooms.
He said: "There are still places where it goes on but you must be
careful."
He told us about Pattaya's latest pervert haunt - a shopping mall and
amusement arcade called Believe It Or Not where kids hanging around
computer games are easy prey.
Brennan said: "It is on the third floor but I would keep away from there
because you get cops dressed in ordinary clothes watching."
In an email we sent him earlier we said we wanted introductions to kids
and he replied: "I have the impression you want me to introduce sexual
partners to you. I can't do that as such but I don't need to.
"There is no need for introductions to young people because Pattaya has
a whole section of town with a big neon sign welcoming everyone to 'Boys
Town'."
We asked him if we could take his children out with us on fishing trips
and picnics. He told us: "You can take as many kids out as you like."
The results of our investigation will shock the famous and the worthy
who have helped the priest for years. Brennan, an Irish-American who
founded the orphanage 30 years ago, gets much of his cash from a
UK-registered charity called Pattaya Orphanage Trust.
The trust got a National Lottery Community Fund handout in June 1999 of
£228,823 and a further £189,068 in 2001.
Private contributors have included rock legend Phil Collins and several
MPs. Brennan flew to London two months ago to thank his British
supporters from the pulpit of Westminster Cathedral.
Eighteen months ago Manchester United gave the priest 100 tickets for
their game against the Thai national side during a Far East tour.
Sir Alex Ferguson and David Beckham posed happily for a picture with two
of Brennan's children.
The unwitting stars might have been less happy if they had known that
Father Brennan turns a blind eye to the vile perverts who cause so much
misery to the children in the first place.
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Source
www.people.co.uk