In October 2015, Ball was sentenced to 32 months' imprisonment for misconduct in public office and indecent assault after admitting the abuse of 18 young men over a period of 15 years from 1977 to 1992.
Further charges of indecently assaulting two boys, aged 13 and 15, were allowed to lie on file in a contentious decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
[6] Whilst prior of CGA, he combined his duties as a member of a religious order with several other pastoral roles, including three years as vicar of the Church of the Holy Angels, Hoar Cross, in Staffordshire.
[8] Official inquiries into prolonged failure to prevent child abuse in the Diocese of Chichester, of which Lewes is part, brought up allegations against Ball, of which he was later convicted.
[11] At Ball's trial in 2015, it was stated that a member of the royal family, a Lord Justice of Appeal, JPs, Cabinet ministers and public school headmasters—"many dozens" of people—had campaigned to support him in 1993.
The Reverend Graham Sawyer, an abuse victim, wants a full investigation and blames corrupt elements in the British establishment.
[13][14] After his resignation, Ball was given accommodation at Manor Lodge, Aller, Somerset, on the Duchy of Cornwall estate of Charles, Prince of Wales.
[10][7] George Carey, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury, allowed Ball to continue officiating as a priest after his resignation, but not as a bishop – he could still celebrate the Eucharist, but not ordain clergy or confirm.
[7][6] Ann Lawrence from the Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors organisation described the opening of the police investigation as "a major first step" for the Church of England.
[27][28][29] Ball was released the same day on medical advice, to be interviewed by police at a later date for questioning about offences "allegedly committed against eight boys and young men, all of whom were at [the] time in their late teens or early twenties, except one who was 12.
[31] On 27 March 2014, Jaswant Narwal, the Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service South East, announced that based on review of evidence gathered by Sussex Police, they would seek to prosecute Ball on three charges relating to the time when he served as a bishop:[32][33] On 8 September 2015, Ball pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and one of misconduct in a public office.
[35] Two charges of indecently assaulting two boys in their early teens, perhaps the most serious alleged offences, were allowed to lie on file in a deal with CPS lawyers.
(Keith Porteous Wood) [36]Bobbie Cheema, QC, said for the prosecution: [Ball] was highly regarded as a godly man who had a special affinity with young people.
A Church of England priest said that when he was a teenager Ball had tried to make him have sex considered an "act of commitment" as a condition of being ordained.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, ordered an independent review of the way the Church of England dealt with Ball's case,[44] but the Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors group and Keith Porteous Wood were unsure if the investigation would be sufficiently far-reaching.
This led to active co-working between Lambeth Palace, the Diocese of Chichester and Sussex Police on a complex enquiry with full information sharing.
[49] A former vicar, Vickery House, was convicted in October 2015 and was sentenced to serve 6½ years in prison for sex assaults against men and a boy.
BBC reporter Colin Campbell stated that during 20 years three different police forces tried to access information the Church of England held about Ball but investigations started only in 2012.
Martin Warner, Bishop of Chichester, said he would call the above a cover up and, "in terms of our practice today, that would immediately be the trigger for disciplinary action.
"[53] On 23 February 2016, the BBC published information about documents they discovered suggesting Ball's defence team tried during the 1990s to negotiate with the police and avoid a public trial.
[49] In early 2016, it was announced that Dame Moira Gibb would chair a review into how the allegations against Ball were handled and why there was so little credence given to his victims, also whether the Church of England complied with its statutory duties.
[57] The review had been criticised because, among other reasons, it would take place behind closed doors and lack what was considered necessary transparency, and because it did not "specifically include the questionable role played by the Church in bringing undue influence to bear on the administration of justice concerning Ball's abuse".
[58] I believe that the Church of England review should add bullying and silencing of victims and whistleblowers to the terms of reference and I shall be making this clear to Dame Moira before agreeing to take part.
[60] Terry Sanderson of the National Secular Society said: The institutional bullying and silencing almost succeeded in preventing Bishop Ball ever being brought to justice.
The Church's obdurate refusal at the highest levels to specify them [bullying and silencing] in the Terms of Reference should ring alarm bells about the seriousness of its intentions to look at them with the requisite priority.
[54] An independent review in 2017 found that the church's hierarchy, notably The Baron Carey of Clifton, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, colluded in concealing abuse by Ball over a 20-year period.
Archbishop Welby of Canterbury said that the church "colluded and concealed" instead of trying to help "those brave enough to come forward", and asked Lord Carey of Clifton to step down from his role assisting the Bishop of Oxford.
[63][64][65] It was reported in 2017, after his release from prison, that Ball and his twin brother were seeking to join the Roman Catholic Church, in order to "live and worship in anonymity and without constant fear".
It included the heir to the throne, the archbishop and a senior member of the judiciary, to name only the most prominent....The alacrity and the extent of the response by Peter Ball's friends to one of their own in trouble was impressive.
"[68][69] Richard Scorer, a lawyer representing other abuse survivors, said that Lord Carey of Clifton, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, bears the greatest responsibility, and called on him to give a "transparent account of his actions".