September 2014

Bedworth man jailed for 18 years for raping a six-year-old girl

A BEDWORTH man with a ‘perverted interest in young children’ has been jailed for 18 years for raping a six-year-old girl.

Paedophile Clint Thompson’s young victim had to go through the added ordeal of having to give evidence to a jury after he denied any sexual misbehaviour towards her.

Thompson, aged 29, of Wootton Street, Bedworth, pleaded not guilty at Warwick Crown Court to three charges of raping her.

But after watching the little girl’s heart-rending police interview and hearing her being cross-examined via a video link, the jury unanimously found him guilty of all three charges.

Jailing Thompson, who showed no emotion, for 18 years, Recorder Simon Ward also ordered him to register as a sex offender for life and banned him from working with children for life.

During the trial prosecutor Nicholas Tatlow said the appalling offences came to light after the little girl spoke to her father.

When her father questioned her, she described how he had performed a sex act on her.

And she revealed Thompson had done it before but had told her to keep it a secret.

Her horrified father contacted the police, and she was interviewed by a specially-trained officer, during which she used a doll to show what had happened.

And the jury saw how she clung to the doll until she was asked to let someone else hold it because it was hiding her face from the camera.

When Thompson was then arrested he denied raping her or any other sexual misbehaviour towards her.

But the police seized three laptop computers, on which officers subsequently found a history of searches being made for child pornography.

Although there were no actual images, searches which had been made included searching for child pornography.

“We say it demonstrates an improper sexual interest in young children,” Mr Tatlow added.

After the jury had returned its verdicts, Recorder Ward told them: “Having to listen to the sort of evidence you have had to Cont. from front.

listen to is unfortunately not uncommon for me, or for the barristers, but no doubt it is for you.”

The court heard that Thompson had a number of previous convictions for offences including violence, but nothing of a sexual nature.

His barrister Graeme Simpson accepted: “There is no mitigation with regard to the offences. I concede the child in this case was particularly young.”

Recorder Ward told Thompson: “You abused the trust placed in you in the most gross manner.

“Records from the computers showed you were accessing the internet searching for pornographic material, and a constant feature of your searches was child sex.

“You had a deep-seated sexual interest in young children and allowed that to be translated into sexual abuse of her.

“The evidence shows you searching the internet even on the day before your last abuse of her. I have no doubt you pose a danger to young children.

“What you did to her hurt her physically. I have to consider whether she will grow up suffering severe psychological harm as a result of what you did. I can’t know whether she will; I can only hope that she won’t.”

Recorder Ward pointed out that Thompson will serve half his sentence in prison and will then be on licence for the rest of the time, during which he will be at risk of being recalled to custody if his behaviour gives any cause for concern.