BEN CAUNCE

MANCOT MAN SENTENCED TO 21 YEARS FOR CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

A man from Mancot has been sentenced to prison for sexually abusing a young child and recording the abuse on his phone.

Ben Caunce, aged 35 and residing on Banks Road in Mancot, pleaded guilty to 15 charges during an earlier court hearing.

These included four counts of sexual assault against a child under 13, along with four counts of assault by penetration of a child under 13.

Additionally, he admitted to three counts of possessing indecent images of children, three counts of taking such images, and one count of displaying indecent images of minors.

During the hearing, prosecutor Catherine Elvin explained that Caunce’s criminal activities were uncovered after he showed a colleague a video involving children during a work social event in December 2025.

The colleague, who was praised by the judge for reporting the incident to police, led officers to Caunce’s home.

The court subsequently sentenced Caunce to 21 years in prison—comprising 16 years in custody and a five-year extended license period.

The judge noted that Caunce had demonstrated little remorse or insight and dismissed his claim that drug use was related to his offending behavior.

He also highlighted that data on Caunce’s phone revealed a persistent interest in the sexual abuse of young children.

Following assessments, Caunce was deemed to pose a high risk of serious harm to children and was classified as a dangerous offender.

He is required to serve at least two-thirds of his prison sentence before the possibility of parole, which is not guaranteed.

Additionally, he was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life and is subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.