WEARDALE PENSIONER JAILED FOR HISTORIC SEXUAL ABUSE
A pensioner has been jailed after he was convicted of the historic sexual abuse of a girl decades ago.John Kirton abused the girl on at least six occasions despite the victim raising the alarm about the abuse she was suffering at the time.
A judge said the victim had been let down after initial investigations were not carried out ‘vigorously’ by the authorities.
Joe Culley, prosecuting at Teesside Crown Court, said Kirton, now aged 78, was convicted following a trial where the jury heard how the victim came forward again in 2022 to report the abuse to police.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said the abuse had a devastating impact on her young life and continues to affect her as an adult.
She said: “Over the years, I would drink to excess in an attempt to cope, and I turned to recreational drugs for some escapism.
“There was a period of 18 months to two years where I was just drunk all the time.” Kirton, of Hogarth Terrace, Rookhope, Weardale, was convicted of six charges of indecent assault on a child dating back several decades.
Joel Wooten, mitigating, said his client was a man of good character until his conviction by the jury.
He said: “There is always in these types of cases where there are serious sexual offences and a significant lapse of time between them taking place and then coming to court, where there will be significant psychological harm.
“In that time, a lot of things can happen, and no doubt in this complainant’s case, a lot has happened.
“She has been let down, not only by this defendant but also by the authorities very early on, but was seemingly ignored.” Judge Jonathan Carroll sentenced the pensioner to a total of six years in custody.
“You undoubtedly groomed her,” he said.
“You started in a way to build confidence and support and then that led to significantly more serious offending.
“There is a measure of persistence in your behaviour.
After the first two incidents, she did report the matters to authorities.
“It is a matter of tragedy that it was brushed off at the time.
The authorities did not act as vigorously as they should have done.
“Perhaps it was the era, things are done differently now.
Perhaps it was downplayed by you.
Either way, she was let down and you did not heed the warnings.” Wooten was also ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely once he is released from prison.
