Stevenage Man Had Underage Sex With Ipswich Girl

18 September 2014, 12:55 | Updated: 18 September 2014, 12:58

A man has been sentenced to nearly seven years in prison for having underage sex with a teenage girl in Ipswich.

53 year-old Geoffrey Harris, of no fixed address but originally from Stevenage, pleaded guilty to five offences at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday.

He had been arrested in June and the offences date back to a three year period between 2005 and 2008.

Senior Investigating Officer, Ds Darren Bruce, said: "The girl involved in this sexual abuse has been honest and very courageous during this difficult and lengthy investigation. We have had to conduct an extremely intrusive examination of her life in order to demonstrate that the evidence against Geoffrey Harris was undisputable.

She has had outstanding support from her family and friends who have not only had to support their loved one, but also to deal with the ordeal of knowing their child has been subjected to this awful offence."
 
Harris was sentenced to six years and 9 months' imprisonment and also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and a previously-issued Sex Offences Prevention Order from an earlier conviction remains in place.