Man jailed for historic sex offences against girl

A man who subjected a young girl to repeated sexual assaults has been jailed – more than 30 years after starting his campaign of abuse.

John Sirrell, now aged 49, had regular access to the victim and abused her throughout her primary school years.

He was exposed when his victim – concerned for the welfare of other children – came forward and made a report to Nottinghamshire Police.

Police began an investigation and obtained a highly detailed account from the victim.

Although they had no physical evidence, specialist abuse detectives were able to confirm that the abuse had been disclosed to others at the time.

Sirrell, who carried out the offences at addresses in Nottingham, initially denied the allegations but later changed his plea and admitted to two counts of indecent assault and two counts of gross indecency with a child.

Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, Sirrell, formerly of Norton Street, Radford, was jailed for two years and seven months.

The sentence reflected his guilty pleas, his remorse at what happened and the fact that the abuse stopped when he was still a young man.

Detective Constable Peter Burrows, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This is a very sad case in which there really are no winners. The victim in this case has had to live with what happened to her for almost as long as she can remember, and the lingering effects of Sirrell’s abuse have unsurprisingly had a very considerable impact on her life.

“Like many victims of non-recent abuse, it was her concern for the safety of other children that encouraged her to come forward and report what had happened to her.

“I know just how hard it can be for people to take that decision so I hope this case gives others the confidence to do the same. We will investigate and will do our utmost to get justice for victims.”