Jean Gibbs, 58, (pictured) has been jailed for nine months by a High Court judge

The former wife of a church minister has been jailed for trying to smear him as a sex abuser.

Jean Gibbs, 58, was sentenced to nine months by a High Court judge after refusing to stop her 16-year campaign against him.

She had previously been ordered by courts to halt her bid to destroy the reputation of the Reverend Charlie Gibbs and force him out of his job.

Sentencing Mrs Gibbs for contempt, Mr Justice Hayden said there had never been any evidence to support her claim that he had physically, emotionally and sexually abused the couple's daughter.

He added that a series of judges has ruled over the years that the allegations are false.

But the judge added that Mr Gibbs, 67 – who retired as Methodist minister in St Mary's on the Isles of Scilly last July – believed his ex-wife had succeeded in wrecking his career.

Mr Justice Hayden said mature adults should take allegations seriously but 'avoid rushing prematurely to judgement'.

He added: 'Mr Gibbs believes that, faced with the onslaught of his ex-wife's allegations, his church, his friends and his colleagues have done precisely that, moved ultimately to judgement against him.

'They have, he believes, succumbed to the openly malevolent objectives of his ex-wife to discredit him and to attack his position in the church.'

Mrs Gibbs, a cleaner, first levelled the accusations in 2001 as part of an attempt to prevent him from seeing their children, who are both now adults.

She continued to spread smears against him and to threaten to have him sacked as a minister despite repeated promises to courts to stop.

Mr Justice Hayden said: 'From early in 2017, the mother began to step up her campaign.

'She issued emails to thousands of individuals which accused the father of physical, sexual and emotional abuse or inferred in the most unsubtle of ways that he was an abuser.

'The father had undoubtedly become used to his character being traduced in this way but this bombardment against his reputation was beyond anything she had undertaken before.'

Reverend Charlie Gibbs (pictured) believed his ex-wife had succeeded in wrecking his career

The judge went on: 'It is difficult to think of any allegation which attracts greater public opprobrium than one of sexual abuse against a child.

'Where these allegations are proved that public censure is entirely understandable. Here allegations are not proved.

'Neither of the children has ever made a complaint to the police or been subject to investigative interview; neither has appeared before or presented written evidence to a court.

'There is no extraneous medical evidence pointing to abuse.

'At risk of repeating myself: there has been no finding of sexual abuse; no finding of perjury against the father; no evidence that would be likely to establish such findings.'

Mr Justice Hayden said Mrs Gibbs had been ordered last month by a judge to halt her campaign. 'Within 24 hours, Mrs Gibbs was barraging rafts of individuals with her unsubstantiated allegations,' he added.

Emails were sent to senior Methodists, including the Reverend Dr Roger Walton, then President of the Methodist Conference, to lawyers and to Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman.

She had previously been ordered by courts to halt her bid to destroy the reputation of the Charlie Gibbs (pictured) and force him out of his job

Mr Justice Hayden said in his ruling, given last week but published yesterday: 'Mrs Gibbs has flagrantly undermined or actively disobeyed court orders.

'She tells me she has come to court expecting to go to prison and is 'happy, proud and completely at peace to be in contempt of court'.'

The judge said Mrs Gibbs had sent a further email to the most senior High Court family judge, Sir James Munby, saying: 'Short of killing me or having me killed, you will not silence me.'

One neighbour near Mrs Gibbs's small terraced house on a smart estate in Attleborough, Norfolk, said: 'She's really lovely and gentle, religious and quiet. Now she's in prison.'

Mr Gibbs also lives in Norfolk after moving back with his second wife Mary.

His retirement came despite telling church-goers in newsletters that he would 'remain the Methodist minister on these fine islands for a while longer'.

Before he left the Isles of Scilly, he told a local newspaper: 'When it's good it's fantastic, and when things aren't so good, it can be more intense, shall we say, because of the closeness of the community.'

A spokesman for the Methodist Church said: 'When complaints and allegations are made, they are investigated sensitively in accordance with procedures. We cannot comment on individual cases.'