JONATHAN Fletcher, Minister of Emmanuel Ridgway Proprietary Chapel from 1982 to 2012, has been charged with eight counts of indecent assault and considered one of grievous bodily harm, for offences dating between 1973 and 1999.
He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday and was bailed to look at Kingston Crown Court on 7 August.
Mr Fletcher, now 81, retired in 2012. His permission to officiate was removed by the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, in 2017, and he currently has no authority to minister within the Church of England.
An announcement from the diocese on Wednesday said that it had cooperated with an independent investigation by charity Thirty-One Eight, published in 2021 (News, 26 March 2021). “The diocesan safeguarding team continues to supply support to those affected by this matter and has liaised with the police in the middle of their investigations.”
The 2021 review drew attention to Mr Fletcher’s influence in the broader constituency of conservative Evangelicalism, which included Iwerne camps, the Proclamation Trust, ReNew, the Church Society, and GAFCON.
An announcement from the Metropolitan Police said: “We encourage anyone who has been a victim of abuse to return forward and speak to us. We have specialist officers who will listen and support you thru the investigative process.”
