This appeared in the local paper 'Stratford Herald' October 2015. The guy was supported by his congregation and he has now been released from prison and is once again part of the same congregation.
Allen (43) of Evesham Road, Dodwell, Stratford, was jailed for two years and eight months and ordered to register as a sex offender for life after he pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual activity with a child.
Prosecutor Andrew Wallace said Jehovah’s Witness Allen had met the girl in the mid-2000s through the church.
The girl, now a young woman in her 20s, said she began to fancy Allen, who had started to pay her compliments.
Then on one occasion when he gave her a lift, despite being fully aware she was only 15, Allen put his hand down her trousers and penetrated her with his fingers.
She did not object or tell anyone what had happened, and there were further consensual incidents between them, including various types of sexual activity but not full intercourse.
Someone who suspected what was going on between Allen, a family man in his 30s, and the girl said something to her mother.
But when she challenged both her daughter and Allen about what she had heard, they both denied it.
Things stopped after the girl began to feel guilty about what was happening, and she eventually decided to come forward last year and contacted the police.
She said she had been dramatically affected by what had gone on, and that what happened with Allen caused her to suffer a breakdown and still haunts her.
When Allen was questioned by the police he accepted the incidents had taken place, but claimed it was the girl who had taken the lead, added Mr Wallace.
Elizabeth Power, defending, said Allen, who has a son and a daughter who are now both in their 20s, had attended for a voluntary interview with the police and made admissions.
“He did not force himself on her; but he was the adult and she was a child. He says he was weak and was attracted to her. He has had the last seven or eight years struggling with those demons.
“He is thought well of in the church, and all the congregation now seem to be aware of this.”
Miss Power said Allen, who has a number of debts, runs his own building business and is the main provider for his family.
“Clearly this is an offence where, after a trial, a sentence of around five years would follow.
“But in the circumstances, if Your Honour could draw back from an immediate custodial sentence, a two-year suspended sentence of imprisonment would be suitable.
“A sex offender group work programme would not be available under the auspices of a suspended sentence but there is a sexual offenders’ behaviour course which could be done on a one-to-one basis.
“Unlike a number of people who are in denial, he accepts he has done something wrong and wants to change.”
But jailing Allen, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano told him: “I quite accept that whatever happened, she was a willing participant in it; but you took advantage of the fact that she was 20 years younger than you, and a child.
“Children who are under 16 are protected by law for a very good reason, because no matter what they think, they are not old enough to make choices about sexual relationships. The psychological damage she has suffered is an illustration of this.
“You are the father of a girl who was not much younger than her at the time. You would have been absolutely horrified if someone of your age had been touching your daughter in the way you had been touching her.
“This has effectively ruined your reputation. You are lucky your wife is standing by you, and you are a member of a church which is supportive of you as well.
“But the message has to go out that if men in their mid-30s repeatedly engage in sexual activity with under-age children, they will go to prison.”
