Reverend Ian Paisley
Ailing former DUP chief the Rev Ian Paisley was the victim of a perverse picture scandal as he lay fighting for his life at the Ulster Hospital.
The Sunday World understands Dr Paisley suffered a gross and sickening invasion of his privacy as he lay unconscious in the east Belfast hospital two years ago.
The critically ill politician was unwittingly caught up in a ‘perv ring’ believed to be operating at the Ulster.
Gross and explicit snaps were taken of the former First Minister and circulated around a circle of sex pests believed to have been preying on vulnerable and elderly patients.
Revelations of the sickening invasion of privacy on the Rev Paisley have emerged as disgraced male nurse David Hull was sentenced on Friday after admitting a serious sexual assault on a female pensioner patient at the hospital.
Paisley had been rushed into hospital in February 2012 suffering from serious respiratory problems.
Close friends and family maintained a bedside vigil as he lay in a comatose state amid fears he would not pull through.
The Paisley family has since revealed they discussed funeral arrangements such was the concern over his condition.
And the former DUP leader later confided he lost days out of his life while in intensive care.
But now it is being alleged that the 85-year-old retired politician and clergyman was photographed by pervert staff member Stacey Crawford as he lay in a comatose state.
Our sources say that father-of-three Crawford, a male auxiliary nurse, exposed himself before taking a ‘selfie’ type picture of himself beside the stricken Dr Paisley.
The images were later passed between a small circle of sex perverts, of which Crawford was the leader.
All of the men inside the close-knit group were extremely computer literate and they met regularly in semi-secrecy at the hospital to swop sexually explicit material and information, including child porn.
Crawford, who lived with his partner on the outskirts of Bangor, later posted a picture of Paisley sleeping in a hospital bed on his Facebook account.
It is understood the Facebook photograph had been taken some distance from Ian Paisley’s bed and it was not of a pornographic nature.
However, the Paisley picture sparked an immediate police probe and cops raided Crawford’s home, removing a laptop computer.
Crawford, originally from Carrickfergus, was subsequently arrested by detectives over misconduct in public office and the story made headlines throughout the world.
Crawford was charged on March 5, 2012 and a file on the matter was passed to the Public Prosecution Service.
But this action only proved to be the catalyst for an even more serious police investigation. Detectives discovered that a computer owned by Crawford contained indecent images of children.
Stacey Crawford appeared at Newtownards Magistrates Court in November 2012 charged with possessing indecent images of children – but two weeks later he took his own life.
“Strangely enough, Stacey could handle the Paisley picture thing alright,” said one of his associates.
“It was seen as a laugh within his group, but he just couldn’t live with the fact that people knew he was a child sex pervert and that he was heading to jail.”
The Sunday World was made aware of the existence of a sordid sex ring involving Stacey Crawford operating inside the Ulster Hospital, after a 58-year-old man pleaded guilty in court this week to a horrific sex attack on an elderly and vulnerable female patient.
On Friday he was handed a total of years five years in jail. And his name was placed on the Sex Offenders Register as well as other official lists monitoring sexual predators.
David Hull, of Main Street, Carrowdore, near Newtownards, admitted what was described in court as an “absolutely horrific” sex attack on the pensioner.
A defence barrister told Downpatrick Crown Court his client was “deeply ashamed and terribly sorry” for what he had done.
Hull – a married father of one – pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual assault by penetration on his 65-year-old female victim, who was also a patient at the Ulster Hospital.
Grey and balding with glasses, Hull sat with his head bowed throughout the half-hour hearing last Tuesday.
He listened intently as prosecuting lawyer David McDowell outlined how his victim was vulnerable and bed-bound.
The pensioner suffered from a serious breathing complaint and had been admitted to the Ulster when she developed a chest infection. The lady also experienced frequent panic attacks.
Mr McDowell also revealed the victim was infirm and unable to move around much as a result of having her leg amputated.
On September 2 last year, Hull had been cleaning the patient in bed with a curtain screen around it, when he sexually assaulted her. He inappropriately touched the woman in two separate parts of her body.
He never spoke to the woman, but afterwards, he pulled a sheet across her and left her in a state of complete shock.
Representatives from the Ulster Hospital were present in court throughout the hearing and listened intently as the case against Hull was outlined by the Crown.
The Sunday World has learned that when quizzed by the cops after they received a complaint from his victim, Hull was initially unable to recall the incident, causing cops to speculate about how many more patients may have been sexually assaulted by him.
But today, the Sunday World can reveal David Hull was a close associate and friend of Stacey Crawford, the auxiliary nurse who took the pornographic picture near Paisley.
Hull and Crawford worked together at the Ulster Hospital. Both shared an interest in computer technology and were often seen together in deep discussion.
Yesterday, the Sunday World received the following statement from the South Eastern HSC Trust, which runs the Ulster Hospital at Dundonald: “Mr. Hull and Mr. Crawford both worked in the Ulster Hospital. We are not aware of any other connection between them.”
The Sunday World received details of another man who took his life earlier this year, who was also a member of the circle of shame operating at the Ulster Hospital.
We are not namimg him today and he was not an employee. However, he called regularly at the Dundonald hospital where he met up with fellow perverts, Crawford and Hull. It is understood he took his life because he feared arrest.