BENJAMIN GOLDSWORTHY SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS IN TEIGNBRIDGE FOR CHILD ABUSE IN NEWTON ABBOT

A man from Newton Abbot has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl at his residence in the nearby area of Teignbridge. The offender, Benjamin Goldsworthy, whose age is 41, was found guilty of serious sexual offenses following a trial at Exeter Crown Court.

The incident took place when the young girl was visiting Goldsworthy’s home. During her visit, he physically assaulted her in a manner that was disturbingly similar to the content of online pornography he had viewed just hours prior to the encounter. According to the court findings, Goldsworthy touched the girl’s breasts and private parts while she was engaged in playing a computer game. The nature of these assaults, along with the detailed description of the victim’s experiences, closely matched the explicit material he had been viewing online the night before.

The court heard that the emotional impact on the girl was profound. She has since become so fearful of physical contact that she now refuses to hold her younger sisters’ hands, reflecting the deep psychological scars left by the abuse.

Goldsworthy’s denial of the charges did not sway the jury. He was charged with sexual assault of a child and two counts of assault by penetration. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, leading Judge David Evans to sentence Goldsworthy to seven years of imprisonment, with an additional one-year extended license period. In addition to his imprisonment, the judge ordered that Goldsworthy be placed on the sex offenders register for the remainder of his life and issued a prohibition from working with children through the Disclosure and Barring Service.

During the sentencing, Judge Evans described Goldsworthy as a particularly concerning offender whose actions had caused significant psychological harm to the young victim. The judge also noted that the evidence of Goldsworthy’s online activity indicated a troubling interest in the sexual exploitation of children.

The case was examined thoroughly in court, with the prosecution presenting evidence that the victim confided in her mother about the abuse in February 2019 after showing signs of distress. A review of Goldsworthy’s phone following his arrest revealed that he had accessed child sexual stories in the days leading up to the offenses, stories that explicitly resembled his actual behavior during the incident.

Goldsworthy maintained his innocence, asserting that he did not touch the girl at all and claimed that she had fabricated the entire story. He argued that the sexually explicit stories downloaded from his device were purely coincidental and unrelated to the incident.

This case highlights the serious consequences of such abhorrent behavior and underscores the importance of safeguarding measures for children in communities like Teignbridge, particularly in towns such as Newton Abbot, where this tragic misconduct occurred.