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Church Jehovah's Witness elder abused young girls
A church elder sexually groomed girls as young as nine.
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Jehovah's Witness James O'Brien, 60, from Pontefract carried out a string of offences stretching back more than 30 years while with the church – many while making door-to-door calls.
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Leeds Crown Court heard his crimes came to light when he was finally confronted by relatives of some of his victims in 2007. They were aged from nine to 15.
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O'Brien, who has since left the organisation, repeatedly used his position of trust to abuse the girls.
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He told his victims he was abusing them because "he loved them".
His victims told police that whenever he was with them in a religious context he would pounce on every opportunity to molest them.
O'Brien admitted 13 counts of indecent assault, one of sexual assault on an under 13, one of assault by penetration and one of sexual activity with a child.
Sentencing O'Brien, from School Road, Checkerfield, to six years in jail plus four years on licence, Judge Peter Collier, the Recorder
of Leeds, told him: "You have pleaded guilty to a series of sexual offences...covering more than half your life.
"You did this on occasions that were connected with your religious activities.
"Your sexual activity grew in seriousness as time progressed, you progressed from one victim to another. In every case it was an abuse of the trust place in you."
The court heard a doctor had advised that O'Brien should be banned for life from having access to young children as "clearly it would not be safe" as he had a "long history of paedophilic behaviour, particularly towards young girls".
There were uncontrollable sobs from the public gallery as details of his crimes were read out.
O'Brien, wearing a dark suit and spectacles, stood straight faced in the dock throughout the sentencing and was silent as he was led away to the cells.
The court heard O'Brien's crimes had started in 1976 .
He has since gone bankrupt and his marriage has broken down.
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