THE trial has begun into the former leader of the Methodist Church in Cornwall.

The Reverend Steven James Wild, 72, faces 11 charges relating to alleged sexual offences against several women between 2004 and 2019.

His trial opened at 12.30pm today with the opening statement of the prosecution, which is ongoing.

Speaking for the prosecution, barrister Brian Fitzherbert told the jury: “This is not a case which involves genitals or penetrative sexual offences. It is about sexual touching of clothed people, often in public – something the prosecution say Mr Wild was able to do because of his position of trust and power he held in the Methodist Church.”

Mr Fitzherbert outlined the circumstances that brought the case to court, including the 2018 resignation of the district safeguarding officer, who had also worked as Mr Wild's personal assistant when he was chair of the Methodist district in Cornwall.

“The resignation prompted two things: a recruitment process for her replacement, and an audit into safeguarding in the Cornwall district,” said Mr Fitzherbert.

“That audit caused concern about how safeguarding in Cornwall had been approached, and a full review was commissioned. In the course of that review in 2019, it became clear the district was aware of the ‘tactile behaviour’ of Mr Wild.

“Put bluntly, he touched people, quite a lot, in various ways. He made some people feel uncomfortable.”

However, Mr Fitzherbert continued: “The attitude of many people in the church was that this was just ‘Steve being Steve’. Many people did not feel uncomfortable about the way he touched them, but it was difficult for those people who did feel uncomfortable to challenge Mr Wild.”

The audit led to investigations and risk assessments, as a result of which five women came forward.

“The prosecution case is that the experiences they described are experiences of being touched in a sexual way by a man who was able to do so because of his position in the church and reputation for being tactile, which meant sexual touching was, for him, easy to disguise,” said Mr Fitzherbert.

The prosecution then outlined an allegation involving a female member of the Methodist Church in Cornwall who had met Mr Wild at a religious service.

“When she met him, she was immediately nervous of him,” Mr Fitzherbert said. “As soon as he met her, he stood very close to her and shook her hand for a very long time. The way he greeted her, someone he had never met before, was markedly different to the way he greeted others.”

Mr Fitzherbert explained how Mr Wild “got members of the congregation to stand in a circle and put their hands around the waist of those next to them”.

A man was standing between Mr Wild and the complainant; Mr Wild “moved his arm down so it was holding her arm … he leaned back and began to stare at her. She was unable to move her arm … she remembers not knowing what to do and not wishing to cause a scene”.

Feeling nervous, the complainant “moved off into a corner” to keep her distance from Mr Wild. However, Mr Fitzherbert said: “He came over to her. She felt she had been backed into a corner. Mr Wild said ‘Come here’ and put his arms around her.”

The prosecution continued: “He pressed his face against hers and began to make noises, like moaning and groaning, saying ‘oh my love’ and ‘you are very special’. She began to shake in a way he must have been aware. It reminded her of the kind of things a boyfriend would do and say, not a minister you had never met before at the end of a service.”

Mr Fitzherbert told the jury that Mr Wild had also allegedly kissed the complainant's cheek “as many as 20 times”.

“It was clear from his behaviour as a whole that he had taken a physical liking to her,” said Mr Fitzherbert. “The first thing to say is: that is sexual touch. The second is, it was frightening and overwhelming.”

Mr Fitzherbert said the complainant remembered “timing her departure to avoid coming into contact with him”.

Following her complaint, a meeting was arranged between the complainant and Mr Wild, who “dismissed what had happened, could not remember or said it had not happened as she remembered”.

When she told her congregation what had happened, she recalled “other members saying ‘he’s such a wonderful man and so lovely’, and that the church was in a war against Satan and this would undermine that war effort.

“Having received no help, she tried to order her life to avoid coming into contact with Mr Wild. That attempt was unsuccessful.”

The trial continues.