A REVERAND has been fined and placed on the sex offender registry – for romping with a Henry Hoover.
John Jeffs, 74, was naked except for a pair of stockings when he was caught pushing the vacuum cleaner’s nozzle, a court heard.
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A shocked churchgoer saw him commit the vile deed while lecturing on Asperger’s syndrome at church.
Jeffs, a retired church leader, noticed the audience member but went ahead and later told police he did it because he felt “naughty,” a court heard
Magistrates learned that Jeffs committed the sexual act while working as a pastoral manager at Parents Talking Asperger’s Christian faith group.
The court heard he was in his office at The Baptist Center in Middleton Cheney, Northants, in September 2020 when he was spotted.
A witness passed by his office and said they saw Jeffs almost completely naked except for a pair of women’s stockings.
Prosecutor Ellie Hutchinson said: “He accepted in a police interrogation that he touched himself in church but claimed he did not know he would be seen.”
Alistair Evans, defending, said: “He is still coming to terms with the loss of his wife at a young age and was in a lot of pain because he ignored his health and his diabetes went untreated.”
The magistrate said, “Why you thought it best to take this case to court, I have no idea.”
A mother who used the church for babysitting sessions told The Sun: “People were stunned when they found out.
“Where the church is, there was a mother and toddler group and we all used that vacuum cleaner. It’s just disgusting.”
A Middleton resident said: “Last year we heard he broke up with a Henry Hoover, but we just joked about it.
“I’ve locked up my Henry Hoover now.
“What shocks me is that he seems like a really nice guy.”
Parents Talking Asperger’s posted a statement on Facebook saying, “Since February 2020, no social groups have run in the buildings in Middleton Cheney.”
Jeffs, of Middleton Cheney, Nothants., was found guilty of indecent exposure on Wednesday after a trial at the Northampton Magistrates’ Court.
He was given an 18-month community warrant and ordered to sign the sex offender registry.
He was also ordered to pay £845 in court costs and £200 in damages to the victim who witnessed the sexual act.
After the lawsuit, the church group claimed they were no longer involved with Jeffs seven months prior to the crime.