GRAHAM MEDWAY SENTENCED TO EXTENDED PRISON TERM ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT
A man named Graham Medway has been sentenced to prison after admitting to several historical sexual offences on the Isle of Wight.Medway, aged 64 and previously residing in the Freshwater area, appeared at Isle of Wight Magistrates Court on August 30 this year.
He pleaded guilty to multiple charges including: - Assaulting a girl under 13 by touching in Yarmouth on September 6, 2014.
- Assaulting a girl under 13 by touching in Shanklin between June 20 and June 22, 2013.
- Two counts of indecent exposure in Freshwater between January 1, 2017, and September 24, 2020.
The investigation was conducted by the Operation Marmion team, which specializes in non-recent child sex offences.
Today, October 4, at Isle of Wight Crown Court, Medway received an extended prison sentence totaling eight years.
His Honour Judge Shepherd sentenced him to six years in prison, with an additional two-year extension recognising his dangerousness as an offender.
Detective Inspector Damian Glendenning stated, "We are grateful to all of the victims who have shown such bravery throughout this investigation.
It is because of their courage that we have secured these convictions against Medway.
I want the public to be reassured that we take all sexual offences and child abuse allegations incredibly seriously.
We encourage anyone with information to report it so we can continue to protect vulnerable individuals.
If you have been affected by child sexual abuse, you can contact police on 101 and speak confidentially." This case ties back to another disturbing incident from 2020, when Medway, then 62, attacked a young child at Fort Victoria Country Park in Yarmouth.
On August 31, 2020, a bank holiday Monday, Medway approached and abducted the three-year-old girl while she was out with her family.
The girl’s family had a system to keep track of her, but on that day she had run ahead during their walk, prompting concern.
The girl's mother lost sight of her at the park and later found her in a secluded woodland area after dogs and other witnesses guided her there.
Witnesses saw Medway with the girl, emerging from bushes, with the man seemingly telling her off.
The young girl was discovered by her mother, who noticed she had wet herself.
The child then told her mother directly, "That man put his willy in my mouth," a statement she later repeated to police.
Hampshire Constabulary located Medway later that night, arresting and charging him.
He was subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison with an extended license period of five years during a hearing at Newport court.
Prosecutor David Richards noted that Medway had been seen near a toilet block at the park around 1:40 pm that day, which was notably sunny.
The family had arrived at the park around 2:30 pm after a day at the beach.
The victim, a confident and energetic child who often approached strangers, was unable to be identified publicly for legal reasons.
The assault occurred in woodland, where Medway forcibly performed oral rape, an act he previously denied during police interviews.
Forensic evidence, including DNA matching that of the girl found on Medway, eventually led to his guilty plea in October.
Sentencing, Judge Roger Hetherington commented, "I have little doubt that you were loitering in the park area, waiting for this opportunity." He also noted Medway’s behavior of lingering after purportedly deciding not to go fishing, implying premeditation.
Victim impact statements from the girl’s mother were read aloud, highlighting the trauma and ongoing distress experienced by her family.
The mother described how the child’s behavior changed, becoming more aggressive initially, and expressed concern about her future well-being.
She stated, "It absolutely breaks our hearts to think about the time we are going to have to tell our daughter about this horrendous thing that had happened to her." The family had to take their daughter to a sexual health clinic, leading to additional trauma.
The mother also shared that her own anxiety, and that of her partner, had increased since the incident, affecting their daily lives.
She conveyed that they now feel unsafe on the island, which they once considered a safe place.
Medway, from Freshwater, previously pleaded guilty in October 26 to one count of child rape.
His defence counsel, Elizabeth Bussey-Jones, noted that he, a married man, had no prior convictions aside from a juvenile theft-related conviction and expressed his remorse, stating he wanted to apologize but recognised it could offer little comfort.
Medway was sentenced to an extended term totaling 14 years, comprising nine years in custody and the remainder on license, with the stipulation that he must serve two-thirds of his custodial sentence before being eligible for parole.
A sexual harm prevention order was also imposed to prevent further offending.
