Police are urging more victims of a predatory former Teesside church deacon to come forward after he was jailed for abusing young men.
John Grant, 77, of Colney Hatch Lane, Hornsey, north London, was a senior figure in churches across the UK, including Billingham Baptist Church in Stockton.
He was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison at Wood Green Crown Court on Monday (September 14), after being found guilty of sexually abusing four young men over a period of nearly 40 years.
Detective Constable Liam Levy of the Metropolitan Police said: "This is a deeply distressing case involving a number of non-recent sexual offences, and I would like to recognise the courage and bravery shown by the victim-survivors in coming forward and putting their trust in us.
"This conviction would not have been possible without their accounts that were provided in the early stages of the investigation, which helped identify the scale of Grant’s prolific offending across more than four decades.
"The victim-survivors were vulnerable young men who put their trust in Grant through his church association, and it is devastating they could be taken advantage of in this way."
Grant was convicted of three counts of sexual assault, six counts of indecent assault, and two counts of causing another person to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity, all committed between 1970 and 2008.
The abuse came to light after a victim reported to police in 2023 that he had been sexually assaulted by Grant over nearly 20 years, beginning in 1994.
He said the abuse started after he moved into a shared house with Grant and was coerced into massages that involved sexual touching.
Following this report, detectives identified further victims by investigating churches and youth groups where Grant had worked.
In addition to his roles at Billingham and Muswell Hill, Grant was also a member of the Broomknoll Church of Scotland in Airdrie between 1965 and 1970, and a member of Ward Green Baptist Church in Barnsley between 1973 and 1984.
Dominique Burrell of the Crown Prosecution Service said: "The way John Grant abused his position as a trusted religious leader to prey on young men in his community was calculated and predatory.
"He targeted teenagers through youth groups and befriended vulnerable young men in financial hardship – all to create opportunities so that he could assault them.
"He manufactured these relationships for his own gratification and it would have been clear that none of the victims consented to his sexual touching and inappropriate behaviour."
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Ms Burrell said: "Grant’s offending has had a lasting impact on the victims in this case and I would like to commend them all for speaking about what happened to them.
"We understand it can be difficult to come forward, but it is because of the strength of their evidence that we have been able to hold him to account."
Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 101, quoting reference CAD3277/08JUL26.
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