When a local church minister was convicted on child porn charges recently, people wondered how a man in such a position could possibly be guilty. But MORWENNA BLAKE, right, discovers his qualification isn't worth the paper it is written on...

MINISTERS are seen as being among the most trustworthy and upstanding members of our community but are they always what they appear to be?

The Wiltshire Times launched an investigation this week following the case of the Rev Shane Adams, a man who had conducted spiritualist meetings, carried out exorcisms and held himself up as a bona fide church member in Trowbridge, but who last month admitted downloading child pornography from the internet.

Adams, 30, formerly of Ramsbury Walk, Trowbridge, but now living in Abdon Close, Chitterne, is an ordained minister with the California-based Universal Life Church.

He had the certificate and uniform to pass himself off as a minister, but scratch the surface and all is not what it seems.

Our investigations into the Universal Life Church revealed it was possible for anyone to gain a certificate of ordination without any checks or qualifications needed. The process took a matter of minutes.

Concerns have been voiced by organisations working with children and by the established church, who fear these sites could be exploited by paedophiles and other unscrupulous characters to get closer to children or other vulnerable members of society.

A spokesman for children's charity the NSPCC, for which Adams previously raised money, said: "There is no doubt there are people with ulterior motives who will use the cover of belonging to an organisation in order to try and gain unsupervised access to children."

Rob Marshall, spokesman for the Church of England's Salisbury diocese, which includes Wiltshire, said: "It is a fact of the internet age you can get anything on there from a certificate in reflexology to a masters degree. "The Church of England only accepts qualifications that adhere to the known procedures, which require two to five years' training.

"This is something that worries the church. Impersonating a clergyman used to be a crime but we are not in that age any more. If people did have any doubts concerning a member of the clergy they are always welcome to contact the diocese."

Adams escaped a jail sentence and was handed a three-year community rehabilitation order. He was also told to register as a sex offender for five years.