Millionaire pastor found guilty of sex offences

LONDON (Reuters) – A millionaire church minister has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a member of his congregation.

Pastor Douglas Goodman, who lived a rock-and-roll lifestyle and enjoyed “pop star” status in his church, was convicted of abusing a 24-year-old member of his choir.

He showed no emotion as the jury also convicted him of attempting to indecently assault a 25-year-old professional dancer.

Goodman, bailed for sentencing on Friday, was surrounded by women supporters singing hymns as he left the Old Bailey court in London.

“He was supposed to be their pastor, their shepherd, but in reality he became their sexual predator,” prosecutor John Coffey told the court.

Goodman, 47, showered his unnamed 24-year-old victim with gifts and paid her university fees before assaulting her in his office and again at a cinema.

“He told me he wanted to go there to see if we could resist falling into temptation again,” she told the court.

Goodman, leader of the Victory Christian Centre in north London, lived a millionaire lifestyle after achieving “iconic” status among his followers.

He owned a mansion in Northampton, spent 21,000 pounds on a holiday to Hawaii and, after his arrest, bought a Ferrari sports car worth 100,000 pounds.

The money flowed in from television appearances, book sales and videos of his sermons, the court heard.

“Pastor Douglas and his family were icons,” church elder Sinmidele Adedeji told the court. “They were like…pop stars.”

Goodman turned to God after being convicted of burglaries and actual bodily harm when he was growing up in south London.

Defence lawyer Courtney Griffiths said Goodman was the victim of a conspiracy cooked up by enemies within the church after he spurned the advances of a member of the choir.

The jury failed to agree on a charge of rape and the judge discharged them from giving verdicts on seven assault charges.

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