Former BBC presenter Benjamin Thomas has been has been jailed for 10 years and 4 months.
Ex Wales At the moment host Benjamin – who was the pastor at Criccieth Household Church in Gwynedd, North Wales – admitted at an earlier listening to to 40 sexual offences dedicated over a interval of 30 years.
The shamed journalist, 44, appeared at Mildew Crown Courtroom on Friday the place his sentence was learn by Choose Timothy Petts.
Choose Petts instructed the courtroom : “For practically 30 years, till your arrest in September 2019, you hid a darkish secret, specifically that you simply have been a prolific intercourse abuser.”
(Picture: Day by day Publish Wales)
He sentenced Thomas to 10 years and 4 months, with an prolonged licence interval of six years.
Choose Petts mentioned he abused his place as a “revered church chief” to search out potential victims and his most popular methodology was to attend till they have been asleep to abuse them.
His offending got here to gentle when one sufferer had the “braveness to return ahead”, and Thomas was reported to police, Choose Petts mentioned.
The choose classed Thomas as a harmful offender, dominated he could be on the Intercourse Offenders Register for all times and issued a Sexual Hurt Prevention Order.
Benjamin sexually abused youngsters and adults of their sleep over a interval of virtually 30 years, a courtroom heard final week.
He confessed to 40 offences towards 33 male victims aged between 11 and 34-years-old when he was interviewed by police final yr.
Thomas dedicated lots of the offences at Christian camps and conferences.
Thomas, from Flint, North Wales, additionally filmed his victims, as soon as hiding his cellphone in a wash bag at an outside centre to movie boys going to the bathroom or showering, the courtroom heard immediately.
(Picture: BBC)
When a few of his victims woke to search out him of their room he pretended to be sleepwalking.
The courtroom heard when police requested Thomas why he touched his victims, he mentioned: “I would derive sexual pleasure from that, that’s a part of my offending, sadly.”
When he appeared at Mildew Crown Courtroom in July he admitted ten counts of sexual exercise with a toddler, eight sexual assaults, and 4 makes an attempt to commit sexual assault.
(Picture: Day by day Publish Wales)
He additionally pleaded responsible on the time to 9 indecent assaults, seven counts of voyeurism and two counts of constructing indecent movies of kids.
The oldest offences date again to 1990, with the newest offences happening on the finish of final yr.
Thomas resigned from his function at Criccieth Household Church following his arrest.
