Dover; Man Jailed For 'Repeated Rapes'

24 July 2013, 17:16

A Dover man who repeatedly raped a girl over a number of years has been jailed for 17 years.

Peter Breeden, aged 68, of Harold Road, Dover appeared for sentencing at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday (22 July 2013).

Breeden had been convicted after a trial in May when he was found guilty of several offences of rape and indecent assault dating back to the 1990s when the woman was just 13.

During police interview Breeden denied raping the woman and stated it was a consensual sexual affair and only began when she reached the age of 16.

The woman finally felt able to report the assaults in 2011 and the officer who led the investigation praised her courage in coming forward and for her bravery during the investigation and the resulting court case.

Detective Constable Sam Robertson from the Kent Police Public Protection Unit said: "We welcome the sentence imposed on Breeden. It will not take away the emotional and physical hurt that this woman had to endure as a young girl but it does bring some closure after she struggled over whether to report the abuse to police

"I hope that this case shows that historic allegations of abuse will be investigated fully by Kent Police and where we have sufficient evidence, offenders will be put before the courts and punished for what they forced their victims to endure."