Quantcast
Channel: Leicester Mercury Latest Stories Feed
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9894

Man raped granddaughter

0
0

A pensioner who repeatedly raped and abused his young granddaughter has been jailed for 15 years.

The 68-year-old was found guilty of nine offences committed against the girl between the ages of six and 14.

For two-and-half-years of that time, the victim was living apart from her parents, at her grandparents' home in north west Leicestershire.

Leicester Crown Court was told her mother and father had no idea the trusted family member was a convicted paedophile, who had been jailed for two years in 1980 for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl.

During a hearing on Thursday, the pensioner was jailed for the offences against his granddaughter, after being convicted unanimously by the jury.

The court heard the abuse led to the granddaughter losing weight, suffering stomach pains, self-harming and eventually attempting suicide.

Her schoolwork suffered and she still has daily flashbacks, sleepless nights and diminished confidence, not wanting to go out alone.

Prosecutor Mark Van der Zwart said: "The abuse happened so often she lost count.

"Her earliest recollection was aged six or seven when she was lying on her grandmother's bed.

"It happened almost any time the grandmother wasn't in the house.

"If she refused to co-operate, it would cause arguments and he would have a massive go at her and make her cry."

When the girl was 11 or 12, the grandfather began having sexual intercourse with her.

Mr Van der Zwart told the court: "He bought her loads of things and was always giving her money.

"He was grooming her to ensure she didn't tell.

"He told her not to tell anyone or they would both be locked up."

The offences came to light when the girl told someone at school.

The defendant was convicted of five specimen counts of sexual assault and four specimen counts of rape, between 2002 and 2010, which he denied.

He insisted no wrongdoing took place and claimed the girl invented the allegations because he had been strict about boyfriends.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, the granddaughter said after moving back to her parents she had feared seeing him but now felt safe.

"She expresses a wish to get on with her life," said Mr Van der Zwart.

Sentencing, Judge Lynn Tayton said the pensioner told the girl that it was her fault.

The judge said: "She didn't understand what was going on and you made her think it was normal.

"You pressured her into submitting to your demands by losing your temper if she didn't comply and sought to isolate her from boys and friends.

"She was scared for a long time and wanted the sexual activity to stop.

"You groomed her to the point where she submitted to you raping her."

Mary Prior, mitigating after the verdicts, said the defendant suffered ill health, including an obstructive pulmonary disorder and respiratory problems and believed he could die in prison.

She said: "He didn't use any violence and when she said stop (during sexual activity) he did so."

Man raped   granddaughter


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9894

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images