GARY FOULDS FROM CHATTEMIS, COTTENHAM, AND EARITH SENTENCED FOR CHILD RAPE IN CAMBRIDGE

In a harrowing case that has shocked the communities of Chatteris, Cottenham, and Earith, Gary Foulds, aged 42, has been sentenced to a decade behind bars for the heinous crime of raping a young girl. The conviction was handed down at Cambridge Crown Court after a detailed trial that uncovered the disturbing details of his abuse.

Foulds, who previously resided in Earith and Cottenham before settling with his family on Station Road in Chatteris, was found guilty of raping the girl when she was only 14 years old. The court also established that he had subjected her to systematic sexual assaults over a period of nine years, a period during which the victim endured ongoing trauma and suffering. Despite the conviction on these charges, Foulds was acquitted of an additional charge of rape and an allegation of indecency involving the same girl.

The defendant, a computer software engineer by profession and a former employee at the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate, vehemently denied all allegations. He claimed that the accusations were “total fabrication,” dismissing the claims as false and baseless. The court also considered a separate charge against Foulds for possession of indecent photographs of young children on his computer, which he also denied. However, this particular charge was left unresolved and remained on file.

During the trial, it was revealed that the victim, now 18, had attempted to report her abuse through various means. She had written letters and shared her painful secret in exercise books with a schoolfriend, but these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful as the letters were never sent and the exercise books were lost. It was only when she confided in a friend at her workplace that police were called to investigate the allegations. The victim, visibly distressed and crying as she testified, recounted her long ordeal of suffering in silence.

Foulds maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, asserting that the girl was lying and had “twisted things.” He expressed no understanding of why she would make such unfounded allegations against him, suggesting that he could think of no substantial reason for her to do so. Despite his protests, the court found the evidence against him compelling.

As Foulds stood impassively in the dock, his wife, who had supported him during the trial, was seen quietly crying. Judge Jonathan Haworth delivered the sentence, condemning Foulds to 10 years in prison for the rape, with shorter concurrent sentences for the series of other sexual assaults. The judge emphasized the gravity of the case, stating, “It is only rarely that the courts have to deal with a case as serious as this one. You have been convicted of the rape of a young child. You destroyed any hope of a normal childhood, and she now has to cope with that legacy. The full extent of the damage caused to her is as yet not fully known. It is already clear that she is suffering and will continue to suffer for the foreseeable future.”

In addition to his prison sentence, Foulds was ordered to register as a sex offender within three days of his release and was permanently banned from working with children. This case serves as a stark reminder of the devastating impact of child abuse and the importance of justice for victims in the communities of Chatteris, Cottenham, and Earith.