Ex-vicar jailed for historic sex abuse
AFORMER vicar has been jailed for eight years for abusing a teenage girl by making her perform sex acts on him by telling her “it was what God wanted”.
Meirion Griffiths was extradited from his home in Perth, Australia, to be brought to trial for the abuse of the girl, who was in her teens in the mid-1970s, and against another woman in her mid-twenties in 1982.
The 81-year-old was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault at Portsmouth Crown Court for the offences, which happened when he was a Church of England vicar at St Pancras Church, Chichester, West Sussex.
Griffiths, who was ordained in 1966 and served as Rector of Corwen and Llangar, and Rural Dean of Edeyrnion (St Asaph diocese) from 1982 until 1988, had emigrated to Western Australia in 1988, but despite putting over 10,000 miles between himself and his former parish, he was arrested on an extradition warrant in November 2017.
He was extradited to the UK in January 2019 and was convicted at Portsmouth Crown Court last month after a six-day retrial.
Sentencing Griffiths yesterday, Judge Roger Hetherington described the “extraordinary” offences as an “enormous breach of trust between an experienced vicar and two highly impressionable, naive and innocent” victims with lifelong “devastating” effects for them.
Richard Witcombe, prosecuting, told the court Griffiths, who was married with two children, targeted the teenager who attended Bible classes and social groups at his church.
The court also heard that Griffiths abused her on trips to the beach, where he took off all his clothes while swimming.
Mr Witcombe said: “As a result of gaining her trust, he was able to abuse her, and did so by telling her to perform oral sex on him, telling her it was what God wanted her to do.”
The victim, who spoke by video link, told the hearing: “The abuse that took place when I was a teenager has affected my whole life and continues to affect me, the fear, disorientation and horror has never left me.”
Describing herself as a “chaste” teenager, she said that she had trusted Griffiths because he was a “man of God” and added: “Who would believe me? He was a minister who held a position of authority.”
A statement from the second victim read to the court described how she attempted to commit suicide during the abuse and continued to suffer from PTSD.
She stated: “The abuse has caused profound irreparable damage and intense ongoing trauma.
“He knew I was vulnerable but despite this he used his position to control my life.”
A Sussex Police spokesman said: “Police emphasise that there are no current safeguarding issues or risks for anyone connected to St Pancras Church in relation to this case.”
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