A MAN has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after being found guilty of a string of ‘horrendous’ child sex offences.
Sean Dooley, 57, of Shirley Manor Gardens, Bradford, West Yorkshire, committed the offences against his female victim over the course of almost 10 years.
Following his sentencing at Bradford Crown Court on Monday, police said Dooley had ‘robbed the victim of her childhood’.
Dooley was convicted of two counts of rape of a child, two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, three counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of assault by penetration of a child.
As well as his custodial sentence, he was also made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Police hope the sentence will help his victim achieve some closure and encouraged other victims of sexual abuse to come forward.
‘Profound lasting impact’
“These were horrendous offences committed over a sustained period against a child victim,” said Detective Sergeant Hannah Andrews of the Bradford Child Safeguarding Unit.
“This abuse has robbed the victim of her childhood and understandably had a profound lasting impact into adulthood.
“She has shown immense courage coming forward to report these crimes to the police and I hope Dooley’s conviction and imprisonment brings her some comfort as she continues to move forward with her life.
“We would urge anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence, whether recently or some time ago, to report it.
“We have specialist child and adult safeguarding units across the Force who investigate these kinds of offences and ensure that victims are offered the support they need.”