Paedophile church minister jailed for sickening sex attacks
paedophile church minister who used his social skills as a priest to groom young boys he subjected to sickening sex attacks was jailed for life today.
Simon Thomas was told by judge Jeremy Burford QC, at Southampton Crown Court, that he would serve a minimum of eight years in prison before being eligible for parole.
The 44-year-old married man with four children, was also given a sex offenders prevention order banning him from communicating with children and he was also banned from working with children and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Thomas, who served as a minister with the United Reformed Church in Hythe, Hants, pleaded guilty last month to 35 charges including two offences of **** against an 11-year-old boy.
Other offences included taking indecent photos of children and indecency with sexual activity with a child, involving nine boys aged between 11 and 15.
It emerged earlier this week that Thomas committed the majority of the offences after the police and the URC received a warning of him having sexual liaisons with minors he met on day internet chat rooms. He was questioned in 2003 but police halted the investigation without checking his computers because the tip-off was anonymous.
The court heard that Thomas would contact young boys through internet chatrooms where he would use a combination of flattery and obscenity to seduce them into meeting him.
When police examined computers seized from his home they discovered a schedule of 1,200 names of people he had met on the internet, 97 of whom were boys aged under 16. The chart included details of the boys as well as comments about them.
The court heard that Thomas got some of his victims to expose themselves on webcams and he also showed his naked body to them over the internet. He also arranged to meet four of the boys in town centres from where he drove to secluded spots where abused them. He also met one boy at his home where he seduced the boy into performing a sex act on him before he raped him.
The court was told that the 35 offences, which included 19 indecent images and video footage on his computer, were committed during a four-and-half-year period.
Sentencing Thomas, judge Burford said that only a life sentence was appropriate for the serious offences of **** because it was not clear when Thomas would be safe to be released back into society.
Judge Burford said: "You used the internet through those years to contact and groom boys using a mixture of flattery and obscenity.
"The same good social skills that made you a successful priest were used to harm those young boys and breach their trust."
Judge Burford said that Thomas had led a double life which had deceived not only his family but his employers and congregation at his church.
He added: "You have been convicted of serious specified sexual offences, there's no doubt there's a significant risk to young boys of serious psychological harm by you committing further offences.
"It's impossible to say when, if ever, you're sexual lust for boys will ever cease."
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Just remember, if this guy goes on webcam to you or a random stranger chats you up on MSN, you never know. You could be the next victim.
