Former Priest, Meirion Griffiths was convicted of ‘devastating’ historic sexual offences was sentenced on the 21 February 2020 to eight years in prison.

Meirion Griffiths, 81, was unanimously found guilty of three charges of indecent assault by a jury in January of this year.

Griffiths, a former Chichester diocese priest, indecently assaulted a teenager and a woman in her 20s during the 1970s and 1980s.

Griffiths moved to Australia in 1988, but was extradited back to the UK for his trial.

One of his victims read out a statement via video link, explaining how his control over her life was ‘unlimited’. She said: ‘When I went to him I genuinely believed he wouldn’t tell me to do something that was wrong.
‘I felt disgusted by what he was making me do; I could make no sense of it. ‘Over the course of the next year my life plunged into turmoil and chaos. It destroyed my faith in God and my relationship with my parents.’
Griffiths’ other victim said: ‘The abuse to which I was subjected to cause profound and irreparable damage, not only to me but others in my life. ‘Instead of encouraging me to find independence, he removed it and used that to abuse me. ‘He would let himself into my house and bedroom – I now fear the power of men in authority.’

Both victims also talked about their experiences of having to live with PTSD following the abuse.

Griffiths sat emotionless in the dock as both statements were read out in court.

Judge Hetherington ruled that there would be no additional court costs to pay.