2019 South Wales paternal sex abuse case

Last updated

In October 2019, a 78-year-old [1] man from South Wales [2] was sentenced for 33 years for serious sexual offences against three of his daughters, spanning 20 years, one of whom was also his granddaughter. He frequently raped his daughters from the ages of 12, 13, or 14, fathering six of his own grandchildren with one. [1] [3] [4] [5] He also arranged for other men to rape his daughters. [6] [7] [8]

Contents

The offender cannot be named to protect the lifelong anonymity afforded to his victims. [2]

Crimes

The offender brainwashed, manipulated and systematically raped three of his daughters during a 20-year period. [9]

Grooming

He groomed and controlled his daughters by invoking magic. He immersed them in a "false world" involving "witchcraft and mysticism" [10] and convinced them that they were receiving emails from a psychic named Amelia Sanctuary, which were really from him. [11] [3] The messages demanded sex with him and with other men. [8]

First daughter

He controlled and sexually abused one of his daughters for about 20 years. He began raping her when she was 14 years old, making her pregnant in a matter of months. [12] She agreed to deceive social services by claiming the baby's father was a boy at her school. Then her father raped her "nearly every night", making her pregnant a second time at 16. [13] She became pregnant nine times in total, giving birth to six children. DNA evidence proved he is the father of all six. [14] Two of the pregnancies ended with a miscarriage [11] and one was ended by abortion tablets given to her by her father to conceal it. [13] He was extremely controlling towards her and emotionally manipulated her, [12] [14] saying for example: "We are soul mates, we have been together through so many lifetimes. We are meant to be together." He gave her a "witch's ring" and emailed instructions to her that he pretended were from the psychic Amelia, including to drink his urine. [13] He groomed her into believing all of this was "a normal upbringing". [1] When on bail following his arrest, he continued raping her, pitching a tent near a beach for this purpose. After he covered up a resulting pregnancy by giving her abortion tablets, she was too frightened of him to seek medical treatment and later recalled, "I was too chicken to go to the clinic". [13]

Second daughter

He raped a second daughter "hundreds of times" for four years [15] during her teens and also had her raped by a second man. [12] Her first time being "basically forced into sex" by her father was in a forested area. Then he raped her "at least two to three times a week" in various locations including her bed and his car. [13] The second man, a family friend, [16] raped her in his own bedroom [17] in a nearby flat, [16] watched by her father. [12] [17] She believes he paid her father. [15] She eventually escaped the abuse by leaving her home. [12] She was initially too frightened to report the crimes due to fears about "losing contact with her siblings". She later reported the abuse to police because she feared for other "girls in the family of that age". [15]

Granddaughter

He also controlled and systematically raped one of the daughters of his first victim (see § First daughter above) [12] [9] from when she was aged 12 or 13 until her late teens. DNA evidence proved that he is both her father and grandfather. [2] He intimidated and controlled her by again invoking witchcraft [12] and by tying her up and sexually assaulting her when she rejected his demands, making her "too scared" to refuse him. He concealed the abuse by demanding she keep it a secret and by telling her "Nobody will believe you and you will be thrown in the loony bin". He raped her several times a week in various locations, such as the family home, his car, a caravan and a lay-by. He continued sexually abusing her while on bail following his arrest. [2]

Trial

In late September 2019, the offender went on trial in Swansea Crown Court for 36 rape counts and for an assault by penetration count. [18] One of the rape counts was for procuring rape. [19] He denied all counts. [20] [21] He cannot be named due to the legal necessity of protecting the lifelong anonymity of his victims. [2]

On 10 October 2019, the jury unanimously convicted him on all 37 counts, after deliberating for four and a half hours. He remained expressionless during the verdict [10] and was remanded in custody. [5]

Paul Jones, a Detective Chief Inspector at Dyfed–Powys Police, said the perpetrator committed "the most serious sexual offences" [13] with an impact that "is very difficult to summarise". [4] He thanked the victims for "their bravery and composure", which "led to the conviction of a very dangerous offender". [10] He added: "I want anyone who has suffered abuse to know that if you find the courage to come forward, you will be taken seriously, and police will work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice.” [11]

Sentencing

On 18 October, Judge Paul Thomas QC jailed the offender for 33 years, with a further seven years on extended licence, saying that his "totally evil" crimes "plumbed the depths of depravity". [1] He told the "cowardly" and "wicked" abuser: "You raped them countless times, well into the hundreds. You took advantage of their extreme vulnerability caused by their age and circumstances and abused them cynically, mercilessly, evilly." [1] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Kay Letourneau</span> American sex offender (1962–2020)

Mary Katherine "Mary Kay" Fualaau, was an American sex offender and teacher who pleaded guilty in 1997 to two counts of felony second-degree rape of a child. Letourneau was 34, and the child, Vili Fualaau, was 12 years old when she initiated the sexual abuse. He was her sixth-grade student at an elementary school in Burien, Washington. While awaiting sentencing, she gave birth to Fualaau's daughter. With the state seeking a seven and a half year prison sentence, she reached a plea agreement calling for six months in jail with three months suspended and no contact with Fualaau for life, among other terms. The case received national attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Wesson</span> American mass murderer on death row

Marcus Delon Wesson is an American mass murderer and child rapist, convicted of nine counts of first-degree murder and 14 sex crimes, including the rape and molestation of his underage daughters. His victims were his children, fathered through incestuous sexual abuse of his daughters and nieces, as well as his wife's children. He has been described as the worst mass murderer of Fresno, California.

Robert Lindsay Hughes also billed variously as Bob Hughes and Robert Hughs, is an Australian-born British former actor who appeared in ABBA: The Movie and the television sitcom Hey Dad..!.

A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a sexual nature; however, some sex offenders have simply violated a law contained in a sexual category. Some of the serious crimes which usually result in a mandatory sex-offender classification are sexual assault, statutory rape, bestiality, child sexual abuse, incest, rape, and sexual imposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swansea Crown Court</span> Judicial building in Swansea, Wales

Swansea Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at St Helen's Road in Swansea, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fritzl case</span> Long-term captivity and abuse of Austrian Elisabeth Fritzl

The Fritzl case emerged in 2008, when a woman named Elisabeth Fritzl told police in the town of Amstetten, Lower Austria, that she had been held captive for 24 years by her father, Josef Fritzl. Fritzl had assaulted, sexually abused, and raped his daughter repeatedly during her imprisonment inside a concealed area in the cellar of the family home. The incest resulted in the birth of seven children, three of whom remained in captivity with their mother; one died shortly after birth and was cremated by Fritzl; and the other three were brought up by Fritzl and his wife, Rosemarie, having been reported as foundlings. Josef Fritzl was arrested on suspicion of rape, false imprisonment, manslaughter by negligence, and incest. In March 2009, he pleaded guilty to all counts and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Álvarez incest case was uncovered late March 2009 when 59-year-old Arcedio Álvarez was arrested in Mariquita, Colombia, accused of imprisoning and sexually abusing his daughter Alba Nidia Álvarez over a period of 25 years, beginning from when she was nine years old. The daughter also gave birth to 14 children, six of whom died due to lack of medical care.

Allegations of abuse of children in certain institutions owned, managed, and largely staffed by the Sisters of Mercy, in Ireland, form a sub-set of allegations of child abuse made against Catholic clergy and members of Catholic religious institutes in several countries in the late 20th century. The abusive conduct allegedly perpetrated at institutions run by the Sisters of Mercy ranged from overuse of corporal punishment to emotional abuse, and included some accusations of sexual abuse by lay persons employed at the institutions.

Catholic sexual abuse cases in Australia, like Catholic Church sexual abuse cases elsewhere, have involved convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests, members of religious orders and other personnel which have come to light in recent decades, along with the growing awareness of sexual abuse within other religious and secular institutions.

The Moe incest case emerged in February 2007 when a woman, identified only as "M" for legal reasons, reported to Victoria Police in the Australian town of Moe, Victoria, that her 63-year-old father, RSJ, had raped her, physically abused her and kept her prisoner in her own home between 1977 and 2005.

The 2009 Plymouth child abuse case was a child abuse and paedophile ring involving at least five adults from different parts of England. The case centred on photographs taken of up to 64 children by Vanessa George, a nursery worker in Plymouth. It highlighted the issue of child molestation by women, as all but one of the members of the ring were female.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal</span> Organised child sexual abuse scandal in Rotherham, England between the 1970s and present

The Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal consists of the organised child sexual abuse that occurred in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Northern England from the late 1980s until present and the failure of local authorities to act on reports of the abuse throughout most of that period. Researcher Angie Heal, who was hired by local officials and warned them about child exploitation occurring between 2002 and 2007, has since described it as the "biggest child protection scandal in UK history". Evidence of the abuse was first noted in the early 1990s, when care home managers investigated reports that children in their care were being picked up by taxi drivers. From at least 2001, multiple reports passed names of alleged perpetrators, several from one family, to the police and Rotherham Council. The first group conviction took place in 2010, when five British-Pakistani men were convicted of sexual offences against girls aged 12–16. From January 2011 Andrew Norfolk of The Times pressed the issue, reporting in 2012 that the abuse in the town was widespread and that the police and council had known about it for over ten years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Madison</span> American serial killer and sex offender on death row

Michael Madison is an American convicted serial killer and sex offender from East Cleveland, Ohio who is known to have committed the murders of at least three women over a nine-month period in 2012 and 2013. He was arrested and charged with the crimes in 2013 and was sentenced to death in 2016. Madison is currently being held on death row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom</span> Overview about child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom

Child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom has been reported in the country throughout its history. In about 90% of cases the abuser is a person known to the child. However, cases during the second half of the twentieth century, involving religious institutions, schools, popular entertainers, politicians, military personnel, and other officials, have been revealed and widely publicised since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Child sexual abuse rings in numerous towns and cities across the UK have also drawn considerable attention.

The Kidwelly sex cult was a cult that operated in the Welsh town of Kidwelly that raped children for decades until its perpetrators were arrested in 2010. Known by its members as simply "The Church", its leader Colin Batley psychologically terrorised and coerced vulnerable children into performing sexual acts, by using death threats and brainwashing. Batley, three female members, and a second man were convicted of child sex offences in 2011 and jailed.

Operation Voicer was a major police investigation into serious sexual offences against pre-school aged children and infants across England, launched in 2014. The perpetrators groomed the families of the young victims, in some cases before the babies were even born. By September 2015, seven offenders were jailed, 28 further suspects had been arrested, three victims were identified, and 33 children were safeguarded. Ten offenders received significant prison sentences.

Beechwood children's home was a care home for children in Mapperley in Nottinghamshire, England, where staff committed serious sexual and "sadistic" abuse against children spanning several decades before it closed in 2006. Some abusive staff received lengthy prison sentences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Munster abuse case</span> Criminal case in Ireland in 2021

The 2021 Munster abuse case, contemporaneously reported in the media as the Munster abuse trial, refers to a criminal trial that took place in Ireland between 2021 and 2022, pertaining to five adults who were found guilty of a plethora of offenses committed against five of the children of two of the accused, between 18 August 2014 and 28 April 2016, in several different counties in the province of Munster, Ireland.

The abuse of Kylie Freeman was a case of child sexual abuse perpetrated, recorded, and distributed by the victim's father, Kenneth Freeman.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dad who raped daughters given 40-year term at Swansea Crown Court". BBC News. 18 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Evans, Jason (3 October 2019). "Man accused of repeatedly raping young girl he had fathered with his own daughter". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019.
  3. 1 2 Rahman, Khaleda (11 October 2019). "Man Found Guilty of Raping Own Daughter, Fathering 6 Children Over 20-Year Period: One of the 'Worst Cases I Have Ever Had to Deal With,' Says Judge". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019.
  4. 1 2 Brown, Lee (13 October 2019). "DNA proved British pedophile fathered 6 kids with his own daughter". New York Post. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019.
  5. 1 2 Yeo, Julia (14 October 2019). "British man fathered 6 children with daughter, also guilty of raping his daughter's child". Mothership. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019.
  6. ↑ Rodger, James (18 October 2019). "'Wicked' dad who fathered six children with own daughter jailed for 40 years". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019.
  7. ↑ "JAILED: Man who fathered six children with his daughter". Lancashire Telegraph. 18 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Giordano, Chiara (18 October 2019). "Man who fathered at least six children with daughter and raped grandchild jailed for 40 years". The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019.
  9. 1 2 Rahim, Zamira (11 October 2019). "Man convicted of rape after fathering six children with own daughter". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 "Father guilty of raping daughters, Swansea Crown Court hears". BBC News. 10 October 2019. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 Dalling, Robert (10 October 2019). "Dad accused of fathering children with his own daughter found guilty of 36 counts of rape". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Evans, Jason (18 October 2019). "Dad who raped daughter over two decades and fathered 'at least' six children with her given 40-year sentence". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hembery, Sandra (12 October 2019). "The shocking testimony of a woman raped by her own father and who gave birth to his children". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019.
  14. 1 2 "Man who 'systematically' raped and fathered children with own daughter for two decades handed 40-year sentence". ITV News. 18 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019.
  15. 1 2 3 "Daughter raped hundreds of times by father, Swansea court hears". BBC News. 1 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019.
  16. 1 2 Evans, Jason (4 October 2019). "Man says he raped young woman after her father went 'on and on' about him doing it". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019.
  17. 1 2 "Father 'tried to persuade friend' to abuse daughter". BBC News. 4 October 2019. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019.
  18. ↑ "Man fathered six children with his daughter, Swansea court hears". BBC News. 30 September 2019. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019.
  19. ↑ Evans, Jason; Gibbons, Brett (1 October 2019). "Dad accused of fathering six kids with own daughter and committing 36 rapes, including granddaughter". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019.
  20. ↑ Rahim, Zamira (1 October 2019). "Man 'fathered six children with own daughter, then raped one of them as well', court hears". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019.
  21. ↑ "Girl was tied up after refusing sex with father, Swansea court hears". BBC News. 3 October 2019. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019.
    - Daoud, Elizabeth (1 October 2019). "Man accused of raping daughter also allegedly raped a child he fathered with her". 7 News. Archived from the original on 3 October 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.