Eight-and-a-half years for retired Methodist minister from Bedale who hypnotised and abused boys

John Price, 82, was told by a judge that he had cynically targeted vulnerable youngsters to whom he should have shown compassion and caring.

John Price, 82, was told by a judge that he had cynically targeted vulnerable youngsters to whom he should have shown compassion and caring

Two of the pervert's victims bravely read their impact statements in court and told how the abuse has affected their mental health and relationships.

One said his faith had been shattered by what happened, and described as "a sick ploy" the hypnosis Price had offered to help him relax for exams.

The second explained how he has great difficult in trusting people, and told the court: "I still have deep suspicions of people's motives around me."

Price, of Ash Tree Close, Bedale, North Yorkshire, was found guilty of 13 charges of indecent assault in the 1970s and 1980 after a trial last month.

The minister was prevented from using his title Reverend after he was convicted of a similar offence in 1999.

Judge Howard Crowson told him yesterday: "The four separate victims represent years of abuse.

"It was inevitable that the jury would conclude that these four individual accounts from men who had suffered and continue to suffer from your offending against them."

Price, a widower who walks with a white stick and is cared for by his daughter, appeared in court via a live video-link from Holme House Prison, Stockton.

He fashioned ways of being alone with the boys, who were aged between 11 and 17, then he indecently assaulted them, Teesside Crown Court heard.

He claimed he could help them with stress, physical or emotional pain and used a cloak or blanket in the hypnosis technique.

Attacks happened at his manse, in the vestry or at the boys' homes when he was a minister in York and nearby Pocklington.

None of the victims said they were actually hypnotised but they froze in surprise and horror at what the respected church leader was doing, the jury heard.

Paul Newcombe, prosecuting, said Price used hypnosis believing the boys would not remember what happened to them while in a trance.

At the end of their session, and after being abused, Price would tell his victims: "If you find yourself about to mention what we do, you will stop, your mind will go blank, and you will forget what you were about to say, and move onto something else."

When one of the victims complained to a senior church figure, who has since died, he was told not to be "silly" and the matter was brushed aside.

Price told the jury he could only vaguely remember the complainants and said he did not molest any of them, saying he had done nothing for which he should feel ashamed, and described the suggestion he was a paedophile as "laughable".

Rod Hunt, mitigating, said: "The facts of the assaults themselves - it is trite to say the court has seen certainly worse physical attacks, but, perhaps, rarely such long-term consequences.

"These were clearly young, sensitive men, and that sensitivity has caused them to, perhaps, be more damaged than other people in this condition, and the effect on their faith cannot be ignored."

Mr Hunt said since his remand in custody at the end of his trial, Price has spent virtually every hour in his cell.

Detective Constable Adam Parkinson, of York Serious Crime Team, said: "John Price abused his position of trust within the Methodist Church. He used that position to gain access to vulnerable young boys in order to sexually abuse them for his own perverse gratification.

"I commend the courage of the victims in coming forward after so long and reliving their experiences.

"I hope this result can finally give them some closure.

"I thank the Methodist Church safeguarding team for their assistance and I hope this case does not distract from the good work the church does in the community."