The director of an evangelical church in Hemel Hempstead has been jailed for nine years for multiple charges of historic sexual abuse, including rape.
61-year-old Michael Toms, from Alexandra Road Congregational Church, was found guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court in September of one count of rape, six counts of indecent assault, and two counts of indecency with a child.
He was acquitted on two further counts of indecent assault.
The crimes, which were committed against two girls, took place between 1979 and 1983, when Toms was between 15 and 19 years old. They began when the girls were aged between 12 and 13.
One of the charges relates to an assault which took place in a church.
Despite the charges being brought in April 2024, Toms, who had pleaded not guilty, was appointed a director of Alexandra Road Congregational Church in February 2025. The church said the appointment was solely for administrative purposes, connected to the it seeking CLG status.
The church’s safeguarding provider CSS told Premier that the church had contacted its helpline in February 2024 after one of its deacons had made them aware he was the subject of a police investigation into allegations of serious sexual offences.
CSS said it had advised the church to contact the police investigating officer who would be “in possession of the full facts”.
CSS added that it “advised that the deacon should not be undertaking any regulated activity and the church stated that his present role did not involve any. This, together with the fact that a statutory agency (the police) were already involved, we advised them that there was not a requirement to contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) at that time. They were invited to recontact us if they needed further advice after contacting the police or if there were significant developments in the investigation.”
CSS told Premier Christian News it hadn’t been contacted after Toms was charged in April 2024 and had been unaware of the development. It added that it had no knowledge that Toms had been appointed a director of Alexandra Road Congregational Church in 2025 and had never been asked for advice on this matter.
In a statement to Premier on Thursday, a spokesperson for Alexandra Road Congregational Church said: "We have taken advice from our safeguarding provider, and we will continue to do so, as well as following any instructions from the statutory authorities."
Ahead of Toms’ sentencing, it said it "was aware of the conviction of Mike Toms on serious sexual charges; We acknowledge with sadness the dreadful impact of these events on all involved. We have taken advice from our safeguarding provider, and we will continue to do so, as well as following any instructions from the statutory authorities.”
The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) said earlier in a statement to Premier that it grieves “for the victims involved…We pray that those affected might know God’s gentle care going forward”.