It took 40 years, but perverted William Blight, 80, has finally been brought to justice.

Blight, of Melvill Road in Falmouth, appeared at Truro Crown Court to learn his fate after being previously convicted by a jury of nine indecent assaults and two indecency with a child charges.

Prosecuting barrister Nigel Wraith described to the court how the abuse was carried out against two underage girls in the 1970s and 1980s.

The offences included Blight placing his fingers on and inside the victims’ vaginas, placing one of this hands on his penis, rubbing himself on top of them causing pain and trying to put his tongue in one of their mouths telling her “it was how adults kiss”.

Blight also masturbated towards one of the victims.

Sentencing Blight to nine years in custody and a further year on licence, Judge Robert Linford described him as “an offender of particular concern”.

June 2021

Royal Navy paedophile from Cornwall filmed his abuse of young girl

A depraved paedophile who worked in the Royal Navy filmed himself abusing a young girl so he could relive the moment over and over again, a court has heard.

Philip Mitchell, 32, was also found in possession of a catalogue of images showing young children being abused.

Mitchell, from the Redruth area, appeared at Truro Crown Court to be sentenced after pleading guilty to assault by penetration of a young girl, two sexual assaults of the same victim, producing an indecent image of a child and three possession of indecent images of children charges.

In total, Mitchell was convicted of two counts of sexual assault on a child under 13 by penetration, two counts of sexual assault on a child under 13, one count of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, two counts of making indecent photographs of a child, two counts of taking indecent photographs of a child and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image.

The young victim in the case was under the age of 16.

Prosecuting the case, Emily Pitts described how Mitchell abused the victim in various locations.

The victim said she didn’t like it and had asked him to stop but he carried on anyway. Chillingly, Mitchell also told the girl to touch herself ‘when she wanted to feel happy’.

Mitchell’s devices were found to contain indecent images spanning all three categories, but worse still, footage of him penetrating the victim and encouraging her to do so to herself.

Mitchell was arrested at his Navy base in Plymouth.

Sentencing Mitchell, Judge Simon Carr said Mitchell filmed the abuse so he could relive it over and over again, and that he had deliberately searched out indecent images of children.

The effect on the young victim was said to be devastating, with her suffering regular nightmares, wetting herself and becoming aggressive.

Mitchell was jailed for 11 years with an extra year on his licence period.

May 2021

Helston paedophile jailed for ‘stealing girl’s childhood’

A man who groomed a girl and engaged in sexual activity with her has been jailed.

Thomas Cosslette, 22, first made contact with the victim through one of her friends, who he had met on holiday in 2016.

Cosslette and the victim began messaging each other in 2016, when he was 18.

Cosslette visited the victim when she was staying in Peterborough and during this visit first engaged in sexual activity with her.

Following this he began asking her to send explicit photos of herself.

On another visit, Cosslette texted the victim just before he set off and told her if she didn’t have sex with him when he got there he would leave and she would never see him again.

Cosslette, of Gwarth an Drae, Helston, pleaded guilty to six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child.

He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison at Peterborough Crown Court. He was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).