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Leaders of the Jehovah's Witnesses have been told to pay a rape victim more than £60,000 damages by a High Court judge.

The woman was raped by a fellow Jehovah's Witness after going door-to-door evangelising near Cardiff, Glamorgan, 30 years ago, Mr Justice Chamberlain heard.

A "judicial committee" of Jehovah's Witnesses' elders had, in 1991, found the woman's allegations against Mark Sewell "not proven" at an internal inquiry.

But more than 20 years later Sewell was investigated by police.

He was convicted of raping the woman and indecently assaulting two other people after a trial in 2014, and was given a 14-year prison sentence.

(Image: PA)

The woman, who is no longer a Jehovah's Witness, said she suffered depression as a result of the rape and sued for compensation.

She said a "proper" internal inquiry had not been conducted and said leaders of the Jehovah's Witnesses were "vicariously liable" for the rape.

The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, which is based in New York and is the worldwide governing body of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the trustees of the local congregation the woman had been a member of, did not accept they were vicariously liable for the rape.

But Mr Justice Chamberlain ruled in the woman's favour after a High Court trial in London.

He concluded that her psychiatric injuries were attributable to the rape and ruled that she should get £62,000 general damages.

The judge named Sewell in a written ruling published on Thursday but did not identify the woman.