As he was handed his sentence, the judge deemed Bryan Gates "an embarrassment to the church".

Gates was found guilty of raping a woman and abusing another whilst he served as a minister at Longton Central Hall in Stoke-on-Trent.

Gates retired from his role after a review into his behaviour was carried out by the church in 1998. The findings were only handed over to the police sometime between 2013-2015 during the Methodist Church's Review of Past Safeguarding Cases.

The disgraced ex-minister was found guilty of one count of rape and two counts of attempted rape at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Tuesday.

He was also convicted of three charges of indecency with a child and two offences of indecent assault.

Judge David Fletcher said: "You are frankly an embarrassment to the church for whom you worked.

"You should be deeply ashamed of the behaviour and the offences you perpetrated."

Staffordshire Police approached one of the victims after they were given the file by the Methodist Church.

Detective Inspector Zoe Kelsall said: "We are very grateful for things like past-case reviews or other third parties to help us.

"The third parties help to bring these cases to our attention, especially with historic cases.

"It does not matter how long ago such crimes occurred because we are committed to carrying out a detailed investigation with the utmost sensitivity to bring offenders to justice."

A former Methodist minister has been jailed for 15 years for rape and sexual abuse dating back 20 years.