2022: IT CONSULTANT JAILED FOR SEX ATTACK ON CHILD
A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed for 13 years after a jury found him guilty of another serious assault on a child.Graham Sivill had already pleaded guilty to two sexual assaults on the pre-school girl in Worcester, but denied the most serious penetrative assault charge.
During a trial he had told the jury he had not committed that sexual assault - but the jury of five woman and seven men took less than an hour to find him unanimously guilty of it on Wednesday (January 26).
The girl's mother had broken down in tears in the witness box when she gave evidence behind a screen about the sexual assault by the IT consultant in March last year.
She told the jury she had asked her daughter if she was telling the truth or lying about the allegation.
"She said she was telling the truth," the mum said.
The witness added that she believed her daughter, the girl telling her: "I'm not making it up mummy." The 63-year-old was arrested on March 22 last year and was first interviewed the following day, saying that during the alleged assault he had grabbed the child by the crotch to stop her 'falling over' which had 'frightened the life out of me'.
In the first interview he said he was 'flabbergasted' by the allegation and called it 'a mistake'.
But in a second interview Sivill said 'I'm just going to admit it', telling officers he did not wish to put the girl 'through any more trauma.' He said the assaults were limited to 'caressing' the girl which happened on 'three or four occasions, maximum' but had claimed no more serious form of sexual assault took place.
"I have got an interest in young girls and the way they look," he told officers.
Appearing before magistrates in Worcester on March 24, 2021, Sivill pleaded guilty to sexual assault on a child under 13 by touching her over clothing between November 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021 and a further sexual assault on a child between March 1, 2021 and March 23, 2021.
But he had denied the assault by penetration resulting in a two day trial having to be held.
During sentencing it was also revealed that analysis of Sivill's computer had shown he had downloaded illegal indecent images of children - an offence he had earlier pleaded guilty to.
Sivill, whose address listed with the court is HMP Hewell, had downloaded 3,095 indecent images (still images) of children at category A - the worst level identified within the sentencing guidelines, as well category B and category C images, the court heard.
Sivill was jailed for a total of 13 years by Judge Nicholas Cartwright at Worcester Crown Court.
