A Belfast man who abused his position as a church pastor to sexually abuse a child and assault a second female victim has been jailed.
As she split the term imposed upon 59-year old Thomas Gillespie between three years in prison followed by one year on licence, Judge Sandra Crawford told the former Elim pastor his behaviour was “abhorrent and deviant”.
The father-of-three, from Victoria Drive in Belfast, admitted two sets of offences against two female victims.
His first victim was sexually abused by him when she was aged between nine and 10.
Gillespie pleaded guilty to six charges of indecently assaulting the child over a period from May 18 1996 to May 17 1999.
All the incidents occurred in the child’s bedroom.
The abuse occurred when, in his role as a church pastor, he would call at her family home after Sunday services.
The prosecutor said that whilst she didn’t disclose what happened to her for years, the abuse “played on her mind”.
She eventually spoke about the childhood abuse with a counsellor in 2018 and subsequently reported it to the PSNI the following year.
Judge Crawford noted that after reading reports on this victim, she suffered “significant harm” due to what she experienced as a child.
Concerning the second victim, Gillespie admitted charges of common assault, false imprisonment and causing another to fear violence.
At the time of this offending, he was a pastor at the church she attended and was considered to be a trusted family friend.
Whilst he was married and aged 48, Gillespie offered to instruct the then 16-year old in RE for her school studies and they began a sexual relationship.
Branding this aspect of the case a “unusual”, a crown prosecutor said that whilst he was not charged with any sexual offences against this victim, Gillespie has accepted that at times during their relationship there was non-consensual sexual activity.
Regarding the charges against the then-teenager, Gillespie admitted that during an argument, he grabbed her by the arm and forced her into his car against her will.
He then locked the doors for a period before unlocking them and allowing her to exit the vehicle.
Judge Crawford said this victim’s impact statement set out the “harmful affect” Gillespie’s “selfish manipulation” and “gross breach of trust” has had on her.
Defence barrister Sam Magee KC said that Gillespie’s pleas to the charges reflected his “remorse” and spared the two injured parties the ordeal of giving evidence in court.
Accepting that his client’s conduct was “deplorable”, Mr Magee said Gillespie has admitted he “took advantage” of his teenage victim.
As well as imposing the four-year sentence, Judge Crawford also placed Gillespie on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.