LUTON MAN JAILED FOR CHILD RAPE IN MILFORD HAVEN

Gary Hicks, aged 64, of Oregon Way in Luton, has been found guilty of raping a child after a retrial at Swansea Crown Court. The court heard that Hicks was charged with the rape of a girl in the Milford Haven area during the late 1980s, specifically between 1987 and 1989. It was alleged that he vaginally assaulted the victim, who was no older than eleven at the time. Hicks initially denied the offence but attended two voluntary police interviews in March 2023, during which he continued to deny the allegations. The victim disclosed the abuse to the police in October 2022, which led to the investigation. Prosecutor Daniel Jones reported that Hicks told the girl that if she ever told anyone about the abuse, she wouldn’t be believed and she would have no friends. After a jury deliberation of just under two hours, Hicks was convicted of the rape. The court also learned that Hicks had previously been convicted of sexually abusing the same victim and another male victim in the Milford Haven area between 1987 and 1989. In that initial trial, he was found guilty of two charges of indecency with a child and three of indecent assault, but was cleared of two other charges. A retrial was ordered on the remaining rape charge, which resulted in his conviction this time. Hicks, who already had to register as a sex offender, was remanded in custody until sentencing, scheduled for March 28. His defense recognized that he would receive an immediate custodial sentence, and a sentence hearing was set. The judge, Recorder Paul Lewis KC, thanked the jury for their attention, and Hicks was handed the guilty verdict following the retrial.