MAN JAILED FOR 13 YEARS AFTER SEXUALLY ASSAULTING YOUNG GIRL
A man who gave a young girl with alcohol during a rabbit shooting outing and subsequently committed a sexual assault has been sentenced to prison.Malcolm Appleby, aged 39 and residing at St Mary's Court in Middleton, was given a 13-year jail term by Norwich Crown Court this week.
The incident occurred in a field near King's Lynn Academy in Gaywood in November 2021.
During a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Andrew Shaw outlined the details of the case after a jury convicted Appleby of the charges.
The conviction followed a five-day trial held in his absence earlier in the year.
The court was told that the defendant invited the girl, who was only 12 years old at the time, to join him for a rabbit hunting trip.
An accomplice, also 12, was present and testified that Appleby was holding hands with the girl during the walk to the shooting site.
The youths set out on the trip at approximately 11 pm.
Upon arrival, Appleby laid a blanket on the ground and steadily provided the young people with an alcoholic drink mixture.
The boy saw Appleby and the girl in sleeping bags, with the defendant's arm draped around her.
Further, the court learned that Appleby threatened the boy with an air rifle if he did not go to the middle of the field, leading him to obey the demand.
Judge Shaw stated that Appleby then kissed the girl on her lips and touched her beneath her clothing, committing a serious breach of conduct during the outing.
"I'm as sure as I can be that the reason Mr Appleby sent [the boy] away was so he could sexually abuse the girl with impunity in her sleep," he added.
The girl later told her mother about what had happened, and she then alerted the police.
Appleby was arrested with bail conditions not to contact the girl, but in July 2022, she was playing with friends when he approached her and tried to persuade her they would "both get into trouble" if she proceeded with her complaint.
He also told her to tell police that it was a dream.
"The jury decided that was a deliberate act of intimidation with the aim of preventing her from giving evidence," Judge Shaw added.
He said that the girl had suffered "severe psychological harm" as a result of the incident.
"I’m sure that there was a significant degree of planning here," the judge said.
"I’m sure that Mr Appleby had planned to isolate the girl from her mother to commit this offence." The court heard that Appleby had 36 previous convictions for 103 offences, although his defence pointed out that none of those were of a sexual nature.
The judge ruled that sentencing could go ahead without the defendant present, as he had refused to attend it, along with most of the previous court hearings.
Appleby gave his reason as due to the fact that the trial had been "unfair from the start".
But Judge Shaw said that Appleby's attempts to disrupt the trial and absent himself from it were all "borne of shame and in the knowledge has has no defence", especially considering the DNA evidence.
"His protestations of innocence, in my judgement, are the last resorts of a guilty man after a serious incident of sexual abuse against a vulnerable child," he added.
In his absence, he handed Appleby a 13-year sentence for the charges of sexual assault of a girl under 13 and intimidating a witness.
This will be made up of a 12 years in custody, with an additional licence period of one year.
He was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and he was ordered to pay a statutory surcharge.
