Gloriavale man sentenced to 11 years for sexual offending

Gloriavale man sentenced to 11 years for sexual offending

| RNZ: Checkpoint |

Victims of a predator in the Gloriavale Christian community have described him as an opportunist who used the vulnerability of his victims to exploit them. Jonathan Benjamin has been sentenced to 11 years and 10 months in prison for more than 20 charges of sexual offending against children – the youngest only 5 or 6 years old at the time. His offending spans more than three decades from the 1980s and his charges relate to 9 victims at the reclusive community during its time on the West Coast and earlier, when it was based in North Canterbury. Anna Sargent was in court in Greymouth.

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