EUGENE CARBERRY: BLACKBURN AND CANTERBURY SEX OFFENDER SENTENCED FOR CHILD ABUSE AND BREACHES

In a case that has spanned decades and involved multiple locations, Eugene Carberry, a man with a troubling history of sexual offenses, has been convicted and sentenced for his heinous crimes against children. The 72-year-old, originally from Canterbury, was found guilty of abusing a young girl over a three-year period during the early 1980s, and later, of breaching court orders related to his previous offenses in Blackburn.

The criminal activities in Canterbury date back to the 1980s when Carberry befriended a family through his connection with the victim’s mother. The young girl, who was only 10 years old at the time, was subjected to repeated sexual abuse at Carberry’s residence in Herne Bay. The abuse occurred on numerous occasions between 1980 and 1983, during which Carberry exploited his position of trust within the family. Despite the victim confiding in her mother about the abuse at the time, she was advised not to lie about such matters, which delayed justice.

It was not until January of the previous year that the victim, now an adult, felt sufficiently courageous to report the abuse to the police. Following her disclosure, authorities arrested Carberry, who was then residing in Blackburn. He faced multiple charges, including five counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency. The case was brought before Canterbury Crown Court, where a jury found him guilty on February 24. The judge sentenced Carberry to five years in prison, a decision that reflects the severity of his crimes.

In addition to his prison sentence, Carberry was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register and was issued a lifelong Sex Offenders Prevention Order, emphasizing the ongoing risk he poses to the community. Detective Constable Brigitte Collard of Kent Police expressed her thoughts on the case, highlighting the bravery of the victim in coming forward after so many years. She remarked, “The victim showed bravery and a great deal of courage in coming forward to report what must have been a horrendous period of a young girl’s life. I cannot begin to understand how it must have felt to not have been taken seriously by a family member at the time.”

She further condemned Carberry’s actions, describing him as a “vile individual” who exploited his friendship with the victim’s family to carry out his sickening abuse over three years. Collard emphasized the importance of thorough investigations into historic sexual abuse cases, stating, “While these abhorrent crimes happened more than 30 years ago, this should go to highlight police investigate every historic report of sexual abuse thoroughly, putting victims at the heart of everything we do. Victims should be encouraged we will take all allegations seriously and use all tools available to us to ensure justice is done.”

In a separate incident dating back to December 2012, Carberry’s history of offending was again brought into focus. During this period, he was involved in a breach of a court-ordered Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) while staying in Blackburn. The court heard that Carberry, then 70, had contact with a six-year-old girl while visiting a friend’s residence. The girl’s mother observed that Carberry paid particular attention to her daughter, engaging in play and tickling her, which raised suspicions.

The prosecution argued that Carberry’s visit was deliberate, knowing children would be present, and that he engaged in physical contact with the young girl. Carberry pleaded guilty to three breaches of the SOPO, which had been imposed in 2007 following his conviction for child sex offenses in 1998 that resulted in a ten-year prison sentence. The order prohibited him from associating with children under 16 or entering any residence where children were present.

The court heard that concerns about Carberry’s behavior had been raised previously, including reports to Hertfordshire police about his visits to a caravan in Barnet, where children often visited. During one such visit in February, two of the owner’s grandchildren visited with their father while Carberry was present. Despite the restrictions, Carberry made no effort to remove himself or to indicate that his presence was a breach of the order. Further breaches occurred in August when Carberry accompanied the caravan owner during a visit to his daughter-in-law’s home, where he again had physical contact with a young girl. The final breach involved Carberry being given a lift to the bus station at the end of his visit, during which a child was present in the vehicle.

Defense lawyer Graeme Parkinson stated that the breaches were not deliberate and that the contact was not unsupervised, suggesting that Carberry’s actions were not intended to violate the court’s restrictions. Nonetheless, the court took these breaches seriously, given Carberry’s history and the potential risk he posed to children. The case underscores the ongoing challenges faced by authorities in monitoring and managing convicted sex offenders, especially those with a history of violating court orders and engaging in inappropriate conduct with minors.