Sign up to our free newsletter for the top North Wales stories sent straight to your e-mail Sign up now! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A Jehovah’s Witness preacher and elder has been jailed for having sexual activity with a girl of 14.

Family man Daniel Arthington, 46, of Llanddaniel, Anglesey, pleaded guilty at Caernarfon Crown Court and was sent to prison for two years and eight months.

“I’m satisfied there was an element of grooming involved in your successful attempt in snaring your young prey,” Judge Huw Rees told him.

“Your fall from grace is substantial but you have nobody to blame but yourself.’

Anna Pope, prosecuting, said the defendant had responsibilities which included being an elder, preacher and other duties.

She described how a local builder had noticed a van parked on occasions on a remote lane near Bangor Rugby Club.

He spotted it in the afternoon of October 17, with a male driver and a female sitting close to him.

Becoming suspicious he told a friend who was a police officer who arrived and could hear voices from the back of the van, “with noises consistent with sexual activity.”

Miss Pope added: “He waited for about 20 minutes during which he saw the van rocking from side to side, and the prosecution say this was the defendant involved in sexual activity with a child.”

Arthington got back into the front of the van, appearing short of breath, and the policeman asked the passenger to get out.

The court heard Arthington said to the girl: “Tell him you’re 19, I’ve already told him.”

When asked for her date of birth the girl admitted she was 14 and on his way to the police station Arthington declared: “I’m dead.”

Miss Pope said there was a mattress and sheet in the back of the van.

In an impact statement the girl said she now felt sad and depressed, had lost weight and couldn’t sleep.

Her family was now considering whether to move.

Simon Rogers, defending, said his client’s family was standing by Arthington.

“He’s deeply ashamed of what he has done and has let down himself and his family.

“He’s been married 27 years with two children.” References described him as “hard working, kind and compassionate.”

Judge Rees told Arthington he been greedy and lustful.

He told him: “You made a sly attempt to prevent the police from seeing her and tried to hoodwink them that she was 19.”

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was imposed whose terms ban any contact with the girl and he must register indefinitely as a sexual offender.

After the case Detective Sergeant Daf Curry of Caernarfon CID said, “The kind of acts this man perpetrated have caused his victim and her family huge damage.

“By exploiting a position of trust, particularly towards a vulnerable child, he has betrayed them all and I hope they feel some sense of justice has been reached and they can attempt to rebuild their lives.

“We welcome the sentence and I’d like to assure the communities of North Wales that we will treat every allegation of sexual abuse seriously and thoroughly pursue the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

A spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses said that Arthington was sacked as an elder soon after his arrest.

He said: “We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family of the girl. We abhor any child abuse.

“He was removed from a position of trust as soon as it became known.”

The spokesman said that elders were a spiritual position and were chosen from within the congregation after many years service and study of the Bible.

He added: “The elders are there to protect the welfare of the congregation. And I would like to repeat we detest this disgusting crime.”