Jonathan Fletcher found to have indecently assaulted man

A has jury concluded that Jonathan Fletcher, a former minister at Emmanuel Church Wimbledon, indecently assaulted a person over roughly 25 years, with incidents occurring between 1973 and 1999.

The assaults primarily involved beating the person’s bare buttocks with a gym shoe. Fletcher often referred to those beatings as “six of the perfect.”

The two-day hearing ended with the jury finding that Fletcher had committed the acts. The final assault is believed to have been particularly brutal and took place within the Nineteen Nineties. The final beating was allegedly so bad that the victim considered suicide.

Fletcher, now in his mid-80s, was not present on the hearing and won’t face a traditional criminal trial or sentence. In late 2025, a judge ruled him unfit to plead as a consequence of his health – Fletcher has dementia. As a result, the complete trial on eight counts of indecent assault (and one charge of grievous bodily harm with intent) was replaced by an examination-of-the-facts process. The legal procedure allows a jury to find out whether the alleged acts occurred, without leading to a conviction or punishment.

Fletcher served as minister at Emmanuel Church Wimbledon from 1982 until his retirement in 2012. He was a distinguished figure in conservative evangelical Anglican circles. Earlier independent reports and investigations had raised concerns about his conduct, including allegations of inappropriate physical “discipline,” naked massages, and abuse of power over a period of years.

The complainant’s police interview was shown in court. During the interview the person described Fletchers’ demeanour throughout the ordeal: “He would just get it over with. Always six strokes. He appeared he found it distasteful … regrettable but essential.” The beatings were “spiritual discipline, promoting holiness in life”.

For his part, Fletcher didn’t deny beating the person’s bare buttocks, but claimed the acts had no sexual intent.

The beatings were often characterised as a punishment or discipline as a consequence of masturbation. The victim alleged that in addition to beatings, Fletcher would ask him to masturbate in front of him as a way of demonstrating the shamefulness of the act. In a somewhat disturbing twist nonetheless, when the victim didn’t masturbate in front of him Fletcher would accomplish that himself.