Five years' prison for Shropshire sex offender who abused child

Raymond Edwards repeatedly assaulted the youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and told her she would be in "big, big trouble" if she ever revealed what he was doing. He told the child that the abuse was a "secret" between them.

But despite the threat, the girl told her parents what had been going on.

As a result Edwards was found guilty of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13 at a trial in June this year and was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday.

Mr Andrew Wilkins, prosecuting, said what had happened between the 52-year-old and the youngster in a Telford home was "an abuse of trust".

"There were also elements of grooming here and the child was already vulnerable due to her youth," Mr Wilkins told the court.

The court heard how Edwards, who was living in Shropshire at the time of the offence, had previous convictions for sexual offences dating back to the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Sentencing Edwards, Recorder Nicholas Daly said:

"You said it was a secret between you and her and if she told she would be in big, big trouble.

"But it turns out she did tell and gave evidence that the jury believed over you."

Recorder Daly said Edwards, of Trafalgar Court, Tividale, Oldbury, West Midlands, had sexually preyed on a young child for his own pleasure.

The judge referred to a victim impact statement which said that the girl had found the trial process traumatic, but that being believed by the jury had given her confidence.

"This was a sustained and repeated incident where you displayed grooming behaviour and made threats to her," he added.

The court was told in mitigation that Edwards had done things he couldn't remember as he was under the influence of alcohol.

But Recorder Daly told him that was no excuse.

He said: "You may have been under the influence of alcohol at the time but that's not mitigation. Don't drink if you behave that way when in drink."

The court was also told that despite being only 52 years old, Edwards appeared to be an older man because of ill-health, including diabetes, which had left him insulin dependent.

He is blind in one eye and has only 25 per cent vision in the other, the court was told.

Edwards was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, of which he will serve half before being released on licence.

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also placed on him, and he was also prohibited from unsupervised contact, living and staying with girls under 16.