Gordon Newton
Huddersfield
· Author
A vicar who repeatedly sexually abused a girl aged just THREE has been jailed for nine years and seven months.
Gordon Newton, 40, who worked in Batley, West Yorkshire, admitted 12 offences, including six counts of sexually assaulting a girl under 13. Leeds Crown Court heard the Church of England clergyman had confessed to having a sexual interest in children for years.
His crimes came to light after his wife handed his old mobile phone to police. Officers discovered 276 indecent images of children, including 70 in the most serious category.
His browsing history also revealed a search suggesting he was seeking abuse images of children younger than three. The court heard his wife suffered depression following the revelations and that her once-devout religious faith had been shattered.
Judge Tom Bayliss condemned Newton’s “extremely wicked series of acts” and the betrayal of trust his position carried. “You held yourself out as a man of God but you’re nothing. You’re a hypocrite,” he told him.
The judge said Newton had betrayed the child, his wife, his parishioners and church authorities. Newton, of Huddersfield, was placed on the sex offenders register for life and made subject to a sexual offences prevention order.
