Retired WA Anglican priest Meirion Griffiths extradited to UK on sex charges

A retired Anglican priest has been extradited to England to face sex assault charges dating back to the 1970s.

Sussex detectives flew out of WA on Wednesday evening with Meirion Griffiths, who until his retirement in 2000 was priest-in-charge at suburban Maddington.

The 80-year-old had been fighting extradition to his native UK for more than a year after being arrested by Perth police in late 2017.

Ordained into the Church of England in 1966, Reverend Griffiths served in various parishes across England and Wales before he moved to Australia in 1988.

He became assistant curate of Albany and rector of Collie before taking up the senior role at Maddington in the mid-1990s.

It is believed Mr Griffiths is the first Anglican priest to be extradited to the UK to face historic sex charges.

Sussex police will allege Mr Griffiths was responsible for several indecent dealings with a girl while he was the vicar at St Pancras and St John’s in Chichester, in southern England, in the mid-1970s.

Then in the early 1980s, police allege he indecently assaulted a women in her mid-20s.

All the offences are alleged to have happened at various locations around West Sussex.

Police launched an investigation in 2014 and in December 2016 an extradition warrant was issued by Westminster Magistrate’s Court.

Mr Griffiths was arrested by Perth police in November 2017 and has been in custody fighting his extradition since his arrest.

After arriving at Heathrow early Thursday morning, the elderly priest was taken to Crawley Magistrate’s Court where he pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Mr Griffiths was remanded in custody to appear at Portsmouth Crown Court on March 1.

The WA Anglican Church did not respond to calls or emails from The Sunday Times.