Hove church youth leader charged with abusing four boys

A Hove church leader abused four boys at his home in Hangleton, a court was told today (Tuesday 15 August).

On separate occasions, Daniel Reed, 57, plied the teenagers with drink at his home in Stonecroft Close, before indecently assaulting them.

Jason Sugarman, prosecuting, told a jury that Reed showed them pornographic films and persuaded them to put on silk shorts or boxers before taking advantage of them.

Some he touched and fondled. Reed, known as Danny, persuaded one boy to lie face down on a mattress while he was grinding against him.

Mr Sugarman said: “This case is one of historic sexual child abuse on boys.

“The defendant, who is now 57 years of age, at that time in the late 1980s early 1990s, was a church youth leader in his early twenties at Clarendon Church, in Hove.

“The events in this case took place over 30 years ago. He is alleged to have met and then, at his home address, sexually abused young men aged between 14 and 16.

“His method was the ask the boy in question to come over for a sleep-over, watch porn, ply him with alcohol and get him to undress and put on silky boxer shorts – all part of the grooming – after which he would then sexually assault him.

“Mr Reed is before you today for seven charges. Four are Indecent assault on a boy under the age of 16 years and three for indecent assaults on a man aged 16 or over.

“Some of the offences involved the wearing of silk-style shorts which the defendant would produce.

“The first complainant came forward in August 2018 when his father called the police to report that his son was sexually abused.”

Mr Sugarman said that Reed abused the boy when he was 14 at the defendant’s home address in about 1987 or 1988.

The victim didn’t tell anyone what had happened until about 2000 or 2002 when he told his wife. He did not report the abuse to the police until 2018.

When a Sussex Police detective interviewed Reed, he made a prepared statement, saying: “I recall that he came to my house on one or two occasions only.”

Reed denied any sexual touching and added: “I now wish to remain silent.”

Another victim said that he had been interfered with sexually by a leader and that he was strongly affected by the experience and too ashamed to tell anyone – even his family.

In 1990, one of the boys told his parents what had happened, Mr Sugarman said, but his father didn’t believe him and made him apologise to Reed in a phone call.

The teenager then contacted the church elders but they told him not to tell the police.

He told his girlfriend at the time and she reported it to Sussex Police but it has not been possible to find a record of the complaint.

A parent separately contacted a church elder with his concerns, saying that the details were “repugnant, sickening in the extreme and upsetting”.

Mr Sugarman said “Although the church leaders became aware of some of these allegations nearer the time the offences occurred, they never reported any of them to the police.”

He said that, to the extent that it was dealt with by the church at all, it was all, apparently, dealt with internally – that is, hushed up.

Reed was sacked as a church youth leader and later turned up at the house of one of the elder John Hosier.

Mr Sugarman told the jury: “Some time after Danny had been asked to leave, he turned up on his doorstep saying he had known he had done wrong.

“As a Christian he wanted to repent, ask for forgiveness and have a fresh start. He did not elaborate about what he had done wrong.”

Mr Sugarman added: “A friend of his went to visit him but found Danny in a state of non-comprehensible gibberish.

“It was clear Danny was in no state to be by himself. After some time, Danny was made an inpatient in a psychiatric hospital.

“It was here that on visiting one day, the defendant told him what it was all about.

“He told him that there was a boy … who was very upset and was going to report him to the police for what he had done to that boy.

“It was obvious what he meant by this but he did not elaborate on detail.”

Another colleague from the church said that he was found wandering the streets and not making sense before being admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

Reed had a girlfriend at about the time of some of the offences, the court was told, but later ended up with a man as his long-term partner.

Reed denies the charges. The trial continues.