A PARISH priest last night said a man jailed for abusing girls in the 1970s had not been left unsupervised with children when he helped out at her church.

Sunningwell man John Laister, a former Sunday School teacher, was jailed for 14 years at Bradford Crown Court this week after being convicted of abusing two girls in West Yorkshire in the 1970s.

The 72-year-old had helped produce Sunningwell’s St Leonard Church newsletter before he was jailed.

The Rev Pam McKellen said the church knew Laister had previous convictions.

She said: “I am very sorry to hear that John Laister was found guilty of serious sexual offences. I know that this will come as a shock to many people who know him.

“His involvement in our church had been under a careful working agreement to ensure that he had no unsupervised contact with children as a result of previous convictions.

“We review the working agreement annually according to diocesan safeguarding policy. I believe that this has worked well and he has been a good and faithful member of our church family helping in a number of appropriate ways, such as doing the news sheet, and we are grateful to him for this. “ She added: “I should stress that the offences for which John has been found guilty took place many years ago in another part of the country.

“But we should never forget that the suffering of the survivors of sexual abuse is long-lasting and profound. All those involved in this sad case are much in my thoughts and prayers.”

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