Church minister is found guilty of abuse

A CHURCH minister who sexually abused six vulnerable women has been be warned by a judge he faces “a very substantial” prison sentence.

Pastor John Wilson, 70, carried out a series of indecent assaults under the pretext of being commanded by God to rid the complainants of evil spirits.

The sexual abuse took place over more than two decades while Wilson served at the Liberty Pentecostal Church in Keighley.

Following a trial lasting more than a month Wilson, of Shann Avenue, Keighley, was yesterday found guilty on more than a dozen charges of indecent assault and further allegations of sexual assault and conspiracy to commit indecent assault after the jury deliberated for about 15 hours.

The abuse was said to have taken place between the mid1980s and 2010 with victims, who cannot be identified, being assaulted during one-to-one “deliverance sessions”.

At the start of the trial in July prosecutor David McGonigal told the jury that the case involved sexual abuse “in the name of religion”.

Wilson’s wife Mary, 79, was also convicted on two charges of aiding and abetting him to commit indecent assault while his assistant Laurence Peterson, 59, of Eric Street, Keighley, was found guilty on similar aid and abet charges and further allegations of conspiring with Wilson to commit indecent assault. The judge remanded Wilson into custody to await his sentence, which will be passed on September 28.

His wife, who has mobility problems and other medical issues, and Peterson, were both granted conditional bail to the same date for the preparation of reports about them.