A MAGISTRATE has been accused of failing to reveal her father's paedophile past when she applied to become a JP.

Susan Taberner, a magistrate on the Manchester City Bench, faces an investigation for allegedly failing to reveal that her father was convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 in 1999. For that offence, and a separate one of assault, he was given a two-and-half year sentence.

This week her father, Benjamin Williamson, 68, of Salford, was jailed again after pleading guilty to four charges of indecent assault on a girl more than 40 years ago. He was sentenced to two years and nine months.

It is also alleged Mrs Taberner, the managing director of a construction firm, met the latest victim at a pub in Bolton, three months before the court case to discuss the matter, after she had given a statement to police.

The victim is Geraldine Higson, Mrs Taberner's aunt, who has waived her right to anonymity to tell how Williamson, her former brother-in-law, `cruelly and brutally snatched away her innocence' in 1964. In her diary she describes how she met Mrs Taberner at the pub on June 5, 2006.

Geraldine says the meeting was at Mrs Taberner's request.

Her diary entry for that day reads: `Meeting Sue, Watermillock. Why wait 40 years? Hurt lots of people. Embarrassed. No more happy family parties. Concerned about magistrates position'.

Mrs Taberner became a magistrate in 2005. Anyone joining the bench has to fill in a form which asks them to list `anything in their private life or in their past or in that of family and close friends which, if it became generally known, might bring the Magistracy into disrepute, or call into question their integrity, authority or standing as a magistrate'.

Mrs Taberner voluntarily stopped sitting as a magistrate last August after informing the head of legal services at Manchester Magistrates' Court of the second case pending against her father, which was dealt with this week.

Now the Advisory Committee, responsible for investigating disciplinary issues involving magistrates will hold an investigation into Mrs Taberner's alleged non-disclosure of her father's earlier conviction.

The complaint against Mrs Taberner was made by Geraldine's husband Peter.

In a letter to Mr Higson, David Greensmith, Justices' Clerk and Director of Legal Services at Manchester City Magistrates' Court, says in reference to Mrs Taberner: "Once the Advisory Committee has been notified by the crown court of the outcome of the case against her father then it is the intention of that Committee to hold a complaints investigation hearing to look at non-disclosure."

A spokesman for the government's Judicial Communications Office, said: "We are aware of this issue and as is standard procedure, once the criminal case is concluded we will examine it further."

A source said anyone wanting to become a magistrate who had a close relative with convictions for paedophile activities would `definitely' have to declare it.

The M.E.N. made repeated attempts to contact Mrs Taberner but she did not respond. We sent an e-mail to her place of work, and attempted to deliver a letter there by courier but staff refused to accept it.

Her letterbox at her home in Bolton was blocked.