A former church leader has been jailed for eight and a half years over sexual offences relating to young men.
John Grant, 77, a moderator and preacher at the London Baptist Association, held senior positions in the church and worked with youth groups.
The incidents of indecent and sexual assault of four young men were committed between 1970 and 2008, while he was a Deacon.
Dominique Burrell, for 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.’
It was in November 2023 that Grant’s offending was first reported, with police appealing for further victims to come forward in July 2026.
He was a senior figure at the Muswell Hill Baptist Church and had links to Billingham Baptist Church in Stockton-on-Tees, Ward Green Baptist Church in Barnsley, Broomsknoll Church of Scotland in Airdrie and several youth groups in north London.
The first victim to report him claimed the abuse began in 1994 when he moved into a shared house with Grant and continued over a 30-year period.
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One victim has since died, having disclosed the abuse to someone close to him who came forward, with the prosecutors successfully arguing his evidence should be heard.
Burrell continued: ‘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.
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‘I hope his conviction sends a clear message that the CPS will pursue justice and prosecute those who commit sexual offences, no matter how long ago the abuse took place.’
Grant, of Hornsey, was found guilty of 11 counts: three counts of sexual assault, six counts of indecent assault, and two counts of causing another person to engage in sexual activity without consent.
He was sentenced to eight and a half years’ imprisonment and will be put on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
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