Ex-BBC presenter turned pastor Benjamin Thomas jailed for string of vile sexual offences
Benjamin Thomas, who confessed to 40 sexual offences against 33 male victims aged between 11 and 34-years-old, has been has been jailed for 10 years and four months
Former BBC presenter Benjamin Thomas has been has been jailed for 10 years and four months.
Ex Wales Today host Benjamin - who was the pastor at Criccieth Family Church in Gwynedd, North Wales - admitted at an earlier hearing to 40 sexual offences committed over a period of 30 years.
The shamed journalist, 44, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Friday where his sentence was read by Judge Timothy Petts.
Judge Petts told the court : “For nearly 30 years, until your arrest in September 2019, you hid a dark secret, namely that you were a prolific sex abuser.”
He sentenced Thomas to 10 years and four months, with an extended licence period of six years.
Judge Petts said he abused his position as a “respected church leader” to find potential victims and his preferred method was to wait until they were asleep to abuse them.
His offending came to light when one victim had the “courage to come forward”, and Thomas was reported to police, Judge Petts said.
The judge classed Thomas as a dangerous offender, ruled he would be on the Sex Offenders Register for life and issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Benjamin sexually abused children and adults in their sleep over a period of almost 30 years, a court heard last week.
He confessed to 40 offences against 33 male victims aged between 11 and 34-years-old when he was interviewed by police last year.
Thomas committed many of the offences at Christian camps and conferences.
Thomas, from Flint, North Wales, also filmed his victims, once hiding his phone in a wash bag at an outdoor centre to film boys going to the toilet or showering, the court heard today.
When some of his victims woke to find him in their room he pretended to be sleepwalking.
The court heard when police asked Thomas why he touched his victims, he said: "I'd derive sexual pleasure from that, that’s part of my offending, sadly."
When he appeared at Mold Crown Court in July he admitted ten counts of sexual activity with a child, eight sexual assaults, and four attempts to commit sexual assault.
He also pleaded guilty at the time to nine indecent assaults, seven counts of voyeurism and two counts of making indecent videos of children.
The oldest offences date back to 1990, with the most recent offences taking place at the end of last year.
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