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	Organist Jailed for Teen Sex Assaults The Sentinel May 9, 2009 http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Organist-jailed-teen-sex-assaults/article-976941-detail/article.html FORMER church organist James Wilkinson has been jailed for 18 months for sexually grooming and indecently assaulting a teenage parishioner more than 20 years ago. The 78-year-old, who was jailed for seven months in 1999 for a similar offence involving a 12-year-old girl, was the church organist at St Peter Ad Vincula, now Stoke Minster, in the late 1980s. Prosecutor Alexander Jacobs told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday Wilkinson befriended the youngster and chatted to her after services. The court heard she was naive and vulnerable and was flattered by the attention, which she had not been used to. "He would take her upstairs into the organ loft where he exposed himself to her." Click here for more The court heard he began collecting her from her home and taking her out. On the way back from a barbecue in 1988 he pulled in a lay-by and touched her breasts. Wilkinson showed her how to perform a sex act on him. He did not engage in full intercourse with the teenager until she was 16. "The abuse took place many times in his car, and in his wife's car," said Mr Jacobs. The defendant was arrested in 1999 on suspicion of indecently assaulting two other young girls. He was found guilty of indecency with one female under the age of 14 who attended another city church and was jailed for seven months. Wilkinson, of Cheadle Road, Wetley Rocks, was arrested in relation to the allegations from the 1980s in January last year. He said he never behaved inappropriately towards the complainant, but he pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault on the day of his trial in March this year. Andrew Baker, defending, said Wilkinson was in poor health and going to prison would have a considerable affect on his wife. He said these matters were very old and his client has been to prison in the interim. "It is quite clear he is now willing to accept what has happened and engage in some form of therapy," said Mr Baker. But Judge Granville Styler said the offences were very serious and jailed the pensioner for 18 months and made a sexual offences prevention order. "I take into account your age and medical ailments. These are old offences and a custodial sentence would affect your wife and elderly relatives. "But these offences were a gross breach of trust. They were persistent sexual offences and persistent grooming of a naive teenager. It was calculated. "The victim has suffered anxiety." Gavin Drake, director of communications for the Diocese of Lichfield, said: "The Diocese places great emphasis on the safety and security of young people entrusted to our care and we have a robust child protection policy in place. "James Wilkinson was dismissed from his previous position as organist in 1999 following his first conviction for child sex offences and he has held no such role since. "Our thoughts and our prayers are with those who have suffered at the hands of Mr Wilkinson. "Victims of sexual assault and abuse suffer greatly; often for many years after the assault or abuse ceases. So we are thankful that the police have been able to bring a successful prosecution." A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: "Staffordshire Police treat crimes of this nature very seriously and will always investigate them thoroughly."
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