‘Preacher’ set to die in jail for years of rapes

West Yorkshire Police began investigating former Territorial Army man Brian Jackson, 50, after he was suspected of being involved in the rape of a stranger.

The martial arts enthusiast was not prosecuted for that crime, but a determined detective looked further into his past and traced six victims – five women and a man – whom he had attacked between 1978 and 1998.

One of them said she hated him so much that she spat in his food, served him dog food in a meat and potato pie, and used his toothbrush to clean a toilet.

Another of the women, who was abused while she was being treated at a Yorkshire hospital, claimed Jackson threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

The male victim said he had become addicted to heroin and been sent to prison since Jackson tried to rape him in a bedsit.

He alleged Jackson had recited a prayer before the attack and had told him: “You’ll come to me. You’ll be one of mine. You’ll be my disciple.”

Jackson, of Hall Lane, Windhill, Shipley, was told yesterday he might never be released from prison after a jury at Bradford Crown Court found him guilty of offences including repeated rapes, attempted rape and indecent assaults.

He was also convicted of stabbing a former girlfriend in the thigh with a kitchen knife during a meal after she gave her sister more potatoes than him.

Jackson showed no emotion as Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC told him that even a prison sentence of 26 years would be “utterly inadequate” to protect the public from the risk he posed.

The judge said witnesses had described Jackson as a demon and an evil man and he had no hesitation in jailing him for life.

“I do not for one moment anticipate, subject to their better judgement as always, that the Parole Board will ever release you unless and until you have demonstrated beyond doubt that you are no longer in a position to cause risk to others,” the judge said.

“If that means you spending the rest of your life in prison then that is what you will do.”

The judge said the case was “nearly as bad as it gets” and Jackson’s crimes were the actions of a “disturbed, violent, depraved and very dangerous man”.

Afterwards, one of Jackson’s victims said they had not come forward earlier because authorities had treated other victims poorly.

“It is 20 years since I was physically and sexually abused by Brian Jackson and although outwardly I managed to pick up the pieces and get on with my life, inwardly this man has haunted me and has still caused me many sleepless nights.

“I knew of people who had suffered sexual abuse around the same time as me and I heard of the appalling way they were treated by the authorities and this was the reason that I did not report my horrific experiences to the police.”

The offences came to light in October 2010 when a woman contacted police to report an attack which 13 years previously.

Detective Constable Sean Donoghue looked into the case and found it had striking similarities with another incident.

That investigation eventually led officers to Jackson, but Dc Donoghue had to overcome a lack of police records from the 1970s and 1980s to gather all the evidence needed to take the case to court.

After his arrest, Jackson told police he was a preacher of the word of God. He denied the charges but admitted giving two of the women “a few slaps”.

Detective Chief Inspector Lisa Griffin said yesterday Jackson had tried to “control every element” of his victims’ lives through “threats and humiliation”.

She added: “It has taken a great deal of courage for his victims to give their evidence and I would like to commend them for their brave efforts in supplying evidence. Their evidence given at Bradford Crown Court was so harrowing at times that many people in the courtroom were reduced to tears. Hopefully today’s outcome will provide some comfort and closure to each of them.”