MILFORD MAN CHRISTOPHER COLEMAN SENTENCED FOR HISTORIC SEX ABUSE IN MILFORD AND GUILDFORD

In a case that has spanned decades and shocked the local community, Christopher Coleman, a man from Milford, has been formally sentenced to prison after admitting to a series of historic sexual offences involving a young boy. The proceedings took place at Guildford Crown Court, where Coleman, aged 59, pleaded guilty to six separate charges related to abuse that occurred over twenty years ago.

The charges against Coleman included three counts of gross indecency, two counts of indecent assault, and one count of buggery. These offences were committed against a 14-year-old boy, with the abuse beginning in 1998. The timeline of these crimes reveals that the victim was just a child when Coleman, who had initially befriended him through an internet chatroom, began his predatory actions. The victim only came forward in February 2019, after reading a local newspaper article that detailed Coleman's previous conviction for similar offences in 2013.

In that earlier case, Coleman was convicted and sentenced to two life terms, with a minimum of 15 years, though this was later reduced on appeal to 12 years. The recent case underscores the long-lasting impact of Coleman's actions and the importance of victims coming forward, even many years after the offences occurred.

Adding to the gravity of Coleman's criminal history, he was also involved in a separate, more heinous series of offences committed in Milford. In November 2012, Coleman, then aged 51, was sentenced to an unprecedented 30 years in prison after being found guilty of a wide range of serious sexual crimes against children, some as young as 18 months old. The police described him as a dangerous predator whose actions were