Ben Thomas, a former BBC Wales presenter and church minister, has pleaded guilty to 40 sexual offences against children and adults. The 44-year-old admitted charges including voyeurism and indecent assault, committed in Wales, London, Shropshire and Romania.
Thomas worked as a reporter on the Welsh-language youth programme Ffeil and on Wales Today. He left the BBC in 2005 to become a street preacher in London before returning to Wales in 2008 to serve as pastor of Criccieth Family Church in Gwynedd, a role he left in 2019.
The church expressed devastation at the revelations, stating: 'We are now devastated by the revelation of such sin and grieve over the pain caused to the innocent victims, the betrayal and deception. Foremost in our prayers now are the victims and their families.' The church added that Thomas's arrest came as a 'complete shock' and that safeguarding checks had been 'satisfactorily completed'.
Detective Constable Lynne Willsher of North Wales Police thanked victims for their 'strength and courage', describing the offences as 'an awful breach of the trust placed in him by the victims and their families'. The NSPCC, supporting the victims, said: 'Thomas has admitted to committing a wave of sexual offences over a long period of time and it is right that he now faces the consequences of his actions.'
