April 2001

child abuser escapes jail

A Sutton pensioner who indecently assaulted a 13-year-old girl and offered her a fiver to go upstairs with him has escaped jail despite serving a previous jail term for sexual assaults on children.

Believing the girl was not harmed by the trivial offences, Judge John Rogers, QC, told the pensioner to go away and try and behave himself before sentencing him to three years probation and placing him on the sex offenders register for five years.

Appalled at the leniency of Rogers sentence, Anne Kelly of local campaign group Kelly Anne Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse said the judge should be brought off the bench.

Id like to meet him in his chambers and see him face children who have been traumatised by abuse, she said.

Herbert Jerome, 74, of Oakhill Road, Sutton, denied molesting the girl but was found guilty on Wednesday of five counts of indecent assault. In 1967, Jerome was jailed for three years for one serious sexual offence and several indecent assaults upon two girls.

During the four day trial last month the Old Bailey was told Jerome repeatedly assaulted the girl as he pretended to brush dirt from her clothes between May 30 and October 1 in 1999.

The girl who cannot be identified told the jury Jerome would say she had something on her jumper and would touch her chest.

She said: Another time he said Ill give you a fiver if you come upstairs. First I thought he was joking about it, but it was so awkward I would go out of my way not to see him. I thought he wanted sex or something, I just told him to go away. He hasnt actually done anything because I wouldnt let him, its never gone that far.

The teenager said it happened no more than five times until she eventually refused to see Jerome and told her father.

Judge Rogers said a custodial sentence was inappropriate, taking into account Jeromes physical frailty and the nature of the offence. Its very lucky that in terms of indecent assault the behaviour the jury convicted you of was trivial, and I suspect and hope no harm as been done to the child, he said.

Mrs Kelly described the judges comments as ridiculous. Of course this child has been traumatised. Obviously the judge doesnt realise how brave she was in coming forward in the first place. That is an enormous thing to do, she said.

She added the fact Jerome had already been jailed more than 30 years ago for sexually abusing children proved that much tougher deterrents need to be enforced.

Abusers never stop, she said. Its time these judges got down to grass root levels and realised that.