John Fox, 82, of Exmouth, has received a sentence of three-and-a-half years in jail following his conviction on 13 counts of indecent assault against a minor at Exeter Crown Court on Tuesday, 22 October. He will be permanently placed on the sex offenders register and prohibited from interacting with children and vulnerable persons.
The conviction pertains to Mr. John Fox’s tenure as a volunteer youth leader at a church in Surrey during the 1990s. In a victim impact statement presented in court, the victim stated: “I was groomed and abused by a man I had trusted during my childhood.”
“I feel robbed of my teenage years and all the normal experiences I should have had. He isolated me. I was in awe of him. I was totally manipulated and taken advantage of. His actions will stay with me forever.”
Sentencing him, the judge said: “You took advantage of your trusted role in [the victim’s] life. You groomed and exploited [the victim] for your own sexual gratification.”
Mr John Fox was also, until recently, a volunteer youth leader at a church in the Diocese of Exeter. He was immediately asked to stand down from his role as soon as the church leadership and Diocese of Exeter learned of the allegations against him.
It is important to note that the victim in this court case is not linked to any church in the Diocese of Exeter.
We take the safety and wellbeing of all who have contact with our churches very seriously and have robust safeguarding procedures in place. The Diocese of Exeter Safeguarding team has been working with the police and statutory authorities in relation to this case and is offering support to those affected. Please contact the safeguarding team if you have any safeguarding concern or require support yourself.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 111 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.