WOODY BRAY FROM LEVAN SENTENCED TO 19 YEARS FOR SEXUAL PREDATION ON YOUNG GIRLS IN CORNWALL

In a case that has shocked the community of Levan and the wider Cornwall region, Woody Bray, a 28-year-old man, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for a series of heinous crimes involving underage girls. Bray was found guilty of multiple sexual offences, including the manipulation and assault of four young girls, some as young as 11 years old, whom he targeted with drugs before committing acts of sexual violence against them.

The court heard that Bray, residing in Levan, employed a disturbing pattern of grooming his victims by introducing them to cannabis, which he used to make himself appear 'exciting and charismatic' in their eyes. His actions were calculated to influence impressionable minors, and he deliberately supplied them with drugs to establish control and trust. Bray’s manipulative tactics included exploiting the girls’ feelings to serve his own sexual desires, culminating in him raping two of them.

During the sentencing at Truro Crown Court, Judge Simon Carr addressed Bray directly, stating, "Approaching them at 11, 12 or 13, you seemed exciting and charismatic to them because you were an older adult. One of the first things you did was to supply them with cannabis. You did that quite deliberately to induct them into your world... you knew precisely how old they were and how impressionable they were."

One of Bray’s victims, now an adult, provided a heartbreaking account of her experience. She described her initial impression of Bray as the 'coolest person' she had ever met when she first started spending time with him at the age of 11 or 12, during the summer before she began secondary school. She recounted how her perception of him changed drastically after she confronted him about her feelings of disgust towards his actions. She told the court, "I wanted to tell him I thought he was a bad person and he should not do things to young girls any more... in the morning he raped me."

Prosecutor Nigel Wraith outlined Bray’s pattern of abuse, revealing that Bray had lived at various addresses during the period he knew the girls, including squats in Penzance and Newlyn, as well as on a farm near St Just. The evidence presented showed that Bray had given cannabis to the girls, kissed them, and engaged in sexual acts, including oral sex and intercourse, with some of them when they were as young as 13. The incidents involving the 13-year-old girl were classified as rape due to her age. Bray was also accused of raping her again when she was between 14 and 15 years old.

Another girl, also aged 11 or 12 when she first encountered Bray, was 13 when she engaged in sexual activity with him, which included drug use. A third underage girl was introduced to cannabis by Bray, with whom he had sex and raped on one occasion. A fourth girl was also given cannabis and was subjected to sexual touching on two separate occasions, though no intercourse was reported in her case.

During his trial, Bray claimed to have no memory of one of the girls when questioned by police. He admitted to having sexual relations with two of the victims, but only after they turned 16, and denied any sexual contact with the other two girls. The charges against him included two counts of rape and one of sexual activity with a child concerning the first girl, three counts of sexual activity with a child related to the second girl, and two similar charges involving the third girl. Additionally, he faced one count of raping the third girl and two counts of sexual activity with a child concerning the fourth girl.

Mary McCarthy, representing the defense, urged the court to consider a more lenient sentence, emphasizing Bray’s relatively young age and suggesting that a lighter sentence might give him a chance for rehabilitation, with the hope of eventual release. However, the court’s verdict reflected the severity of Bray’s crimes and the need for justice for his victims, resulting in the 19-year prison term.