UNITED KINGDOM
The Sentinel
By P_Cullinane | Posted: January 25, 2017
Shamed Methodist minister Bryan Gates was arrested for historic sex offences – years after church leaders carried out their own investigation into his sordid past.
The 63-year-old retired in 1998 and had previously raped a woman in Stoke-on-Trent during his time at Longton’s Central Hall.
He was one of 1,885 people investigated by the Methodist Church after concerns were raised about thier past.
Now Gates has been jailed for 15 years after being convicted of one count of rape and two counts of attempted rape.
It has emerged Staffordshire Police approached his victim after being handed the church file.
Judge David Fletcher told Gates: “You are frankly an embarrassment to the church for whom you worked. You should be deeply ashamed of the behaviour and the offences you perpetrated.”
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