November 2020

Kingswood man raped child and tried to keep her quiet with ice cream and sweets

Ice cream and sweets were not enough to buy the silence of a little girl who had been raped.

Kurt Webber abused the youngster and gave her the treats, telling her not to tell anyone – not even her mother.

But the child did reveal what happened later, even though it concerned her to break the confidence.

Webber, 30, of Court Road in Kingswood, denied wrongdoing.

A jury at Bristol Crown Court found him guilty of rape of a girl aged under 13.

Judge Michael Longman handed him a 14-year sentence, comprising of 13 years’ custody and a year’s extended supervision.

He told Webber: “The jury found, on very compelling evidence, that you raped her.

“The evidence of (the complainant) was extremely persuasive.

“You told her not to tell anyone what happened and obviously felt she would do as she was told to keep a promise.

“But she did tell someone.

“It plainly troubled her she had broken her promise.”

The judge ordered Webber to notify as a sex offender indefinitely and handed him a Sexual Harm Prevention Order designed to prevent re-offending.

Mark Worsley, prosecuting, said Webber abused the child, who would keep secrets when people told her to.

Mr Worsley said: “He committed the offence and then gave her ice cream and sweets and told her not to tell anyone, not even her mother.

“She felt like it was her fault.”