ROY JACOBS FROM DIBDEN PURLIEU SENTENCED TO 18 YEARS FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST TWO GIRLS

In August 2019, Roy Jacobs, a 75-year-old man from Dibden Purlieu, was sentenced to serve 18 years in prison after being convicted of multiple sexual offences involving two young girls. The court heard that Jacobs had committed these heinous acts over a span of several decades, with one victim being abused in the late 1990s and the other during the 1970s.

During the proceedings at Southampton Crown Court, it was revealed that Jacobs, who was reported to be in poor health, might be required to serve the full duration of his sentence, as he was not automatically eligible for parole at the halfway point. The prosecution, led by Rose Burns, detailed how Jacobs, residing on Orchard Way in Dibden Purlieu, began his pattern of abuse with one girl in the 1970s and later targeted another victim in the late 1990s.

Ms. Burns explained that one of the victims was initially hesitant to come forward, fearing threats from Jacobs that discouraged her from revealing the abuse. It was only last year that she decided to report the incidents to the police. During the police interview, Jacobs himself admitted to abusing the second girl, confirming the allegations.

One of the victims provided a heartfelt statement read aloud in court, describing how the abuse would “haunt her for the rest of her life.” She expressed feelings of guilt, stating, “It ruined my childhood. I felt like it was all my fault that these things happened to me. I have spent so much time wondering what I would have been like if this abuse didn’t happen.”

Jacobs faced charges of nine counts of indecent assault and two counts of indecency with a child. He pleaded guilty to eight of these charges, while denying four others. A jury at Southampton Crown Court found him guilty of three counts and acquitted him of one after a trial.

Judge Nicholas Rowland delivered the sentence, condemning Jacobs for his actions. He stated, “You abused that vulnerable child and threatened her and told her not to tell anyone. What you did was to destroy her childhood, and what you did will stay with her for the rest of her life.” The judge emphasized that Jacobs would not be eligible for automatic release at the halfway point and would require parole board approval before any consideration of early release.