Basingstoke Man Convicted Of Sex Abuse

22 August 2013, 16:45 | Updated: 22 August 2013, 18:09

A man from Basingstoke’s been found guilty of multiple counts of rape and sexual offences.

Paul Kent, 37, was convicted this morning after a trial at Winchester Crown Court.

The jury had heard how Kent, who’s homeless, abused the women over an eight year period and groomed girls as young as 14.

Ellie Fargin, Crown Advocate for the Crown Prosecution Service inWessexsaid: “Paul Kent is a dangerous sexual predator who has been manipulating, controlling and raping adult women as well as grooming and abusing young girls aged between14 to 36, over a period of eight years.

“The jury at Winchester Crown Court heard how he groomed and sexually abused two girls under 16.

“He went on to rape one of these two girls when she was 16 years old.

“The jury also listened to disturbing and graphic evidence that this was happening at the same time he was manipulating, controlling and committing offences of rape on women.

“The rapes were often accompanied with threats of violence and he forced the women to perform degrading and humiliating acts.

“In addition to the abuses he inflicted on these women he made threats of intimidation against one of them who he had abused when she was a child and assaulted another woman causing actual bodily harm injuries.

“After hearing the prosecution and the defence case the jury has today reached its verdicts and has found Paul Kent guilty of nine offences of rape including some offences that covered multiple instances of rape, two offences of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, one offence of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, five offences of sexual activity with a child, one offence of actual bodily harm and one offence of intimidation.

“He was also found guilty of blackmailing a further woman of £10,000 and threatened to get it from her family if she failed to pay.

“We would like to thank all the victims in this case who had the tremendous courage to come forward and giving evidence in court. We hope that with this prosecution they will now be able to move forward with their lives.

“This successful prosecution clearly demonstrates how together CPS Wessex Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) Unit and Hampshire Constabulary are determined to tackle violence against women and young women”