Former Salvation Army members jailed for Blackpool child sex abuse

BBC News
April 24, 2018

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-43879310

Philip Worthington, Trevor Worthington and William Tomkinson were jailed at Preston Crown Court

Three men who were members of the Salvation Army - including a father and son - have been jailed for sexually abusing young girls.

Trevor Worthington, 88, his son Philip Worthington, 64, and William Tomkinson, 70, were convicted of charges including indecent assault and attempted rape.

The assaults against two victims took place between 1971 and 1991, their trial at Preston Crown Court heard.

Another man, Derek Smith, 68, was handed a suspended prison sentence.

At an earlier hearing, he admitted indecent assault.

All four men attended the Salvation Army Citadel in Coronation Street, Blackpool when the abuse took place, police said.

The first victim was 11 when Tomkinson first assaulted her as they travelled in a van together from Lancaster to Blackpool.

Between 1971 and 1978, Tomkinson, Smith and Philip Worthington sexually abused her during journeys in cars and vans.

When she eventually disclosed the abuse to Trevor Worthington in 1978, he too began to abuse her.

Lancashire Police said a second woman came forward last year to report she had been sexually assaulted by Philip Worthington between 1988 and 1991.

•On Monday, William Tomkinson, 70, of Raleigh Avenue, Blackpool was found guilty of 10 counts of indecent assault. He was jailed for four years

•Trevor Worthington, 88, of Mayfield Avenue, Thornton was found guilty of one count of indecent assault and jailed for 12 months

•Philip Worthington, 64, of Warwick Place, Blackpool was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault, one count of gross indecency with a child and two counts of attempted rape. He was jailed for eight years and three months

•Derek Smith, 68, of Hall Park Drive, Lytham, pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault and was jailed for 15 months, suspended for two years

Philip Worthington will be on the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely; the others will be on it for 10 years.