Jail for Kettering child sex abuser
16 July 2019, 17:02 | Updated: 16 July 2019, 18:45
A 74 year-old Kettering man has been jailed for sexually abusing a girl more than 40 years ago.
Kettering man, 74, jailed for abusing girl four decades ago
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15:47 16/07/2019
A 74-year-old Kettering man has been jailed for sexually abusing a girl more than 40 years ago.
David Bellamy, of Brambleside, was convicted by a jury at Leicester Crown Court of indecently assaulting his victim, who was 14 at the time of the abuse in the late 1970s.
Bellamy, who had denied the offences throughout his trial, was said to have abused his victims on a number of occasions between 1977 and 1979.
The court heard the victim was regularly abused while asleep and staying at an address in Kettering of one of his relatives. The jury was told Bellamy had also groomed the teenager by allowing her to smoke and drink alcohol and take her for drives in his sports car.
He was jailed for a total of five years and three months, of which he will serve half his sentence. He was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for Life
Speaking afterwards investigating officer DC Jason Gregory, of Northamptonshire Police, said: “I welcome today’s sentence and I hope that it will be of some comfort to the victim in this case who has had her childhood and much of her adult life traumatised by events over 40 years ago.
“I would like to commend and pay tribute to the victim and witnesses in this case for their bravery and courage throughout the investigation and during the trial.
“These events more than 40 years ago have now caught up with David Bellamy and I hope he will now reflect upon his actions which caused very significant trauma for the victim. Bellamy groomed a vulnerable young child while she was simply visiting a relative during the holiday periods. She was subject to repeated and ongoing sexual abuse on a number of occasions during her childhood.
“This investigation shows that Northamptonshire Police will positively and robustly investigate all offences of non-recent sexual abuse no matter when they took place. We are always here to listen whenever you may feel ready to talk and we would urge anyone with information about child sex abuse, regardless of how long ago it was, to contact us on 101 or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”
