BRITAIN
The Age
LONDON
Monday 7 January 2002
The eldest son of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, has been questioned by police over allegations that he sexually abused boys while working as a priest.
Following a wide-reaching investigation into Father John Tolkien, West Midlands police have sent their findings to the Crown Prosecution Service. Officials will assess whether to press formal charges against the retired Roman Catholic priest.
The alleged offences were said to have been carried out against a number of boys during his ecclesiastical career. Father Tolkien, now 84, was a serving priest at churches in Oxford, Birmingham, Warwickshire and Staffordshire.
