Church leader sexually assaulted young men and police fear there may be more victims

Police are appealing for further victims of a church leader to come forward after he was convicted of abusing four vulnerable young men over more than 40 years.

John Grant, 77, a moderator and preacher at the London Baptist Association, was convicted of carrying out 11 sexual attacks between 1970 and 2012.

Met Police investigators now believe there may be many more victims due to the nature of his offending and his lengthy association with the church across the UK.

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.

Police first became aware of Grant’s offending in 2023 after a victim reported that he had been repeatedly sexually assaulted over a 30-year period.

The abuse began in 1994 when the victim moved into a shared house with Grant, who began asking whether the complainant wanted massages.

The man rejected these offers, but said he felt pressured into massages involving sexual touching. This continued until the victim moved out in 1998, but he returned to the address in 1999, where the abuse continued until 2012.

Following this discovery, officers launched extensive enquiries to identify organisations, youth groups, and churches connected to Grant, leading detectives to identify further victims.

Across all the complainants, there was a similar motive displayed by Grant, who also served as a church deacon and youth leader.

He systematically groomed vulnerable young men through coercive control and behavior before sexually assaulting them.

Grant, of Hornsey, was convicted at Wood Green Crown Court 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.

He was remanded in custody ahead of sentence on September 11.

Detective Constable Liam Levy, who led the investigation, said: ‘This is a deeply distressing case involving a number of non-recent sexual offenses, and I would like to recognize 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.

‘As this case demonstrates, the Met is firmly committed to investigating all reports of rape and sexual offenses, even if they occurred many years ago.. Any victim-survivor that comes forward will be treated with dignity, compassion and sensitivity at every step of the way.’

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