ALAN BROWN JAILED FOR 22 YEARS IN BEDFORDSHIRE FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST YOUNG GIRLS

In September 2017, Alan Brown, a 73-year-old man from Poplar Farm Park, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for multiple sexual offences against young girls under 16 years old, including rape. Brown was convicted of 18 offences in King's Lynn Crown Court. The crimes occurred over a decade, beginning in the early 1970s while he was living near King’s Lynn, but the police investigation only commenced in 2015.

On Wednesday, Brown was found guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, 13 counts of indecent assault, and three counts of rape. When appearing before Judge David Radford on Friday, Brown was also informed that he would be registered as a sex offender for life.

Judge Radford expressed condemnation, stating: “In a gross breach of trust, you used them for your own sexual gratification.” He described Brown’s conduct as “predatory,” noting that it had “corrosively permeated” the victims’ lives. The judge added: “The jury was sure there was no consent and you were entirely reckless as to whether they were consenting,” emphasizing that Brown “couldn’t care less.”

Radford further acknowledged the victims’ silence and suffering: “As often is the case, the victims kept silent to others despite their inner turmoil, feelings of shame and disgust.” He highlighted that the actions caused long-term psychological harm and condemned Brown’s reaction to their trauma, saying, “Your reaction from the first to the last has been not one of regret but of denial.”

Following the sentencing, the families of the victims were overwhelmed with emotion, embracing each other in the courtroom. One of the victims’ husbands remarked, “He had a short temper and was quick with his fists.” Speaking about his wife’s ordeal, he said, “The details were most horrendous, she was not able to speak about it until the investigations started in 2015.”

Despite the brutal nature of the crimes, he viewed the sentence as a just and significant step forward, stating, “It will be a step in moving on.” He added, “This has always been a cloud, and even on the day of the conviction, a cloud was lifted.” He praised his wife and the other victim’s resilience, saying, “The strength of those two victims in carrying the weight of what happened to them and suffering the indignity of the police investigation in the last three years is just incredible.”