Monk on Caldey Island gave naked photos of himself to visitors

A woman has spoken out for the first time about an alleged sexual assault by a monk who lived on a private island off the coast of west Wales.

Brother Titus Keet, 78, has also been accused of sexually harassing and sexually assaulting a former Caldey Island employee as well as giving women naked photos of himself.

He denied the allegations saying "a woman who feels rejected can become very vicious" and said the pictures were not sexual, but he would reflect on his behaviour.

The claims, revealed in a new BBC podcast Dark Island, were investigated by Dyfed-Powys Police but there was no further action.

Caldey Island is off the coast of Tenby, Pembrokeshire, and is owned by a group of Cistercian monks.

Single mum Natalie Roberts was a regular visitor from the early 2000s and would spend holidays there with her two sons.

She told the Dark Island podcast that Keet would give her photos of himself posing naked on beaches on Caldey, often accompanied by a poem.

He shared photos with other women too.

In 2016, Natalie went for a walk from Caldey to nearby St Margaret's Island with her sons and a friend.

She did not know Keet would be there.

The walk is quite dangerous and you have to scramble across slippery rocks to get from one island to the other.

Natalie claims it was then, when Keet was walking behind her, he repeatedly sexually assaulted her over her clothes.

She said she was horrified, adding: "I was so angry because I knew this was an absolute violation.

"You know, this wasn't spiritual. This was his opportunity just to do that."

She said she was stunned but did not say anything to Keet because she thought he would deny it and she might be asked to leave the island.

Natalie said: "I think the worst thing it did, if I'm completely honest, it took away my whole spiritual belief in Catholicism."

But Keet claimed she turned "wickedly against him" after he rejected her attempts to seduce him.

It is also claimed Keet made several unwelcome sexual advances towards an employee of the abbey.

Allegedly, he touched her breasts and bottom, commented on her body and referred to her genitals, despite being asked not to.

Other allegations included making sexualised comments while showing nude photos of himself and pictures of naked women.

It is claimed Keet was confronted at the time but said UK law did not apply to him as he was a Dutch citizen, that he could do as he liked as he was on a private island and allegedly, he called the employee "too sensitive".

He is also accused of saying the woman was lucky to receive sexual attention from him and "women welcomed male attention".

It is also claimed the monk told her she would lose her job if she complained.

Keet said the allegations were false and quoted The Bible in his statement to the podcast: "To all who are pure themselves, everything is pure; but to those who have been corrupted and lack faith, nothing can be pure [Letter to Titus 1,15]."

He said the employee had made up the allegations in the hope the monastery would pay her money and that she was paid to "keep quiet".

"If it was not so sad, it would be laughable, how she could make up so many allegations spread out over three years, in which we had co-operated so pleasantly together. Very sad," he added.

In response to the allegation from Natalie, he said: "This is a classic example of a woman who felt frustrated in her advances, disappointed in her expectations, feeling rejected and then turns against the other in a very vicious way."

Natalie denied that claim and said he was in a position of "significant power" and she was in a position of vulnerability.

She added he used victim-blaming language and had attempted to discredit her.

The abbot of Caldey Abbey, Father Jan Rossey, said they referred complaints in line with their safeguarding procedures.

He said in 2024, Keet was "required to leave" Caldey Island and will not be allowed back.

This was years after the employee made a complaint of sexual assault.

Keet has moved to another monastery.

About 50,000 day trippers catch the boat from the popular seaside resort of Tenby to visit Caldey island every year.

It is owned by the order of monks that live there, and is only 1.5 miles (2.4km) long and a mile (1.6km) wide.

Visitors who stay overnight can do so in the guesthouse or other properties the monks own.

There are also about 30 lay people who live there.

Caldey Island was once known for being "crime free", but in 2017, six women settled a civil claim against the abbey.

They had been sexually abused as children by the monk Thaddeus Kotik.

The former abbot Robert O'Brien knew about the abuse but did not report it.

An independent review, published in 2024, found that victims were treated in a heartless, hostile and cruel way.

It said frequent allegations of abuse were made, but not followed up on or reported to police, and the lack of challenge had enabled Kotik to abuse children over four decades "in plain sight".

Other offenders have also stayed on the island, including a man who was wanted by police and lived under an alias for seven years before being jailed for 30 months for possessing child abuse images.

The abuse by Kotik was investigated by the police in 2014 and 2017, but officers concluded there was little they could do as he died in 1992.

However, a former head of crime for the force has called for a renewed investigation into the abuse by Kotik, which could also look at how three other offenders - Paul Ashton, John Cronin and John Shannon - came to stay on the island.

Steve Wilkins, who led the operation behind the conviction of serial killer John Cooper, said: "Was the magnet that drew them there that they could go and hide in plain sight?

"They could continue their offending with little chance of it being reported to the authorities."

Dyfed-Powys Police said it had followed all appropriate lines of enquiry and there were no ongoing investigations.

Rossey apologised and acknowledged child abuse was previously ignored.

He said it was deeply concerning people felt unable to speak up or feared exclusion if they raised concerns.

He said things had changed on the island, that new safeguarding measures had been introduced including a committee with police, council staff and a survivor of abuse.

People who live and work on the island must now have criminal record checks, original ID and have interviews with the abbot and island manager.

He said the abbey was committed to openness, listening to those harmed and learning from past failures.

He said all recommendations from an independent review into abuse on the island had been implemented.