A 46-year-old Jehovah's Witness preacher and elder has been jailed for having
sexual activity with a girl of 14.
Family man Daniel Arthington of Llanddaniel, Anglesey, pleaded guilty at
Caernarfon crown court and was sent to prison for two years and eight
months.
"I'm satisfied there was an element of grooming involved in your successful
attempt in snaring your young prey," Judge Huw Rees told him.
"Your fall from grace is substantial but you have nobody to blame but yourself."
Anna Pope, prosecuting, said the defendant had responsibilities which
included being an elder, preacher and other duties.
She described how a local builder had noticed a van parked on occasions on a
remote lane near Bangor Rugby Club. He spotted it in the afternoon of
October 17, with a male driver and a female sitting close to him.
Becoming suspicious he told a friend who was a police officer who arrived and could
hear voices from the back of the van, "with noises consistent with sexual
activity."
Miss Pope added : "He waited for about 20 minutes during which he saw the
van rocking from side to side, and the prosecution say this was the
defendant involved in sexual activity with a child."
Arthington got back into the front of the van, appearing short of breath,
and the policeman asked the passenger to get out.
Arthington said to the girl : "Tell him you're 19, I've already told him."
When asked for her date of birth the girl admitted she was 14 and on his way to the police station Arthington declared :"I'm dead."
Miss Pope said there was a mattress and sheet in the back of the van.
In an impact statement the girl said she now felt sad and depressed, had
lost weight and couldn't sleep. Her family was now considering whether to
move.
Simon Rogers, defending, said his family was standing by Arthington. "He's
deeply ashamed of what he has done and has let down himself and his family.
He's been married 27 years with two children."
References described him as: "hard working, kind and compassionate."
Judge Rees said to Arthington - in a white shirt and tie and expressionless
as sentence was passed - that although there had been no penetration "you
were close to it on any view."
He added that he'd been greedy and lustful. "You made a sly attempt to
prevent the police from seeing her and tried to hoodwink them that she was
19."
A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was imposed whose terms ban any contact with
the girl and he must register indefinitely as a sexual offender.
After the case Detective Sergeant Daf Curry of Caernarfon CID said: "The
kind of acts this man perpetrated have caused his victim and her family huge
damage. By exploiting a position of trust, particularly towards a
vulnerable child, he has betrayed them all and I hope they feel some sense
of justice has been reached and they can attempt to rebuild their lives.
"We welcome the sentence and I'd like to assure the communities of North
Wales that we will treat every allegation of sexual abuse seriously and
thoroughly pursue the perpetrators and bring them to justice."
http://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/170597/jehovah-s-witness-preacher-jailed-for-having-sexual-activity-with-14-year-old-girl-in-bangor.aspx
