A retired priest has been given a two-year community order after admitting the sexual abuse of two schoolboys more than 40 years ago.

Edward Phillips-Smith, 76, pleaded guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court to indecently assaulting an 11-year-old boy and inciting him to commit an act of gross indecency at St Peter's Collegiate School in Wolverhampton between 1978 and 1980.

He also admitted to indecently assaulting a second boy under 14 and inciting him to commit an act of gross indecency in Brewood, Staffordshire, between 1982 and 1983.

Previous prison sentence

Phillips-Smith was sentenced in January 2024 to 32 months in prison after admitting sexually abusing St Peter's schoolboys at his Brewood home in the 1980s. He was released on licence in May 2025.

The court heard the defendant, known to children as Father Eddie, was dying of cancer.

How the new complaints emerged

Prosecution counsel Andrew Wallace told the court that media coverage of the 2024 case led to the two additional complainants coming forward.

First victim's account

The first victim was 12 or 13 years old and a pupil at St Peter's. He visited Phillips-Smith's school accommodation after the priest, described as a "cool and trendy teacher", had told him about a Scalextric set he could see.

After playing with the set on the floor, Phillips-Smith told the boy he had something else to show him in his bedroom. The defendant undressed the child, lay next to him on the bed, assaulted him and encouraged him to perform a sex act. He then asked the boy to follow him to the bathroom to watch him masturbate.

Phillips-Smith later tried to encourage his victim to join him on a barge trip, telling him he could attend for free if he shared his cabin, but the boy declined.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the survivor said he had struggled with paranoia, anxiety and post-traumatic stress, suffered "dark dreams" and, as a person of faith, been "deprived of the sanctuary and comfort" he should feel in places of worship. He said the "selfish and repulsive crime" had caused him to "suffer in silent pain".

Second victim's account

The second complainant was assaulted in Phillips-Smith's former home in Brewood when he slept there overnight alone. His family had trusted Phillips-Smith after getting to know him through their local church.

The court heard the defendant assaulted the boy and made him perform a reciprocal sex act.