A 56-year-old man has received a suspended prison sentence at Exeter Crown Court after being convicted of three non-recent counts of indecent assault committed against a young man in North Devon.
Clint Barnes, from Morecambe, appeared in the dock for sentence having been found guilty of three historical offences that occurred across the late 1990s and early 2000s in the Bideford area.
The court heard that all three charges related to a single male victim who was a teenager and young adult at the time the offences took place. Barnes subjected the complainant to repeated sexual abuse, which involved sexual touching over the victim’s clothing alongside unwanted, illicit sexual comments.
The offending remained undisclosed for roughly two decades until 2022, when the victim made disclosures regarding the abuse during an attendance at a hospital. Medical staff alerted authorities, prompting Devon and Cornwall Police to initiate a formal historical inquiry.
Following the investigation, Barnes was charged with multiple sexual offences and subsequently convicted of three counts of indecent assault.
Under the provisions of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, the victim in this case is protected by mandatory, lifelong statutory anonymity. Any publication, broadcast, or public dissemination of information capable of leading to his identification is strictly prohibited under UK law.
Sentencing Barnes at Exeter Crown Court, the presiding judge imposed a custodial sentence of one year, suspended for a period of three years.
Alongside the suspended sentence, the court ordered Barnes to complete 250 hours of unpaid community work and undertake a formal rehabilitation activity requirement.
Barnes was further ordered to pay £2,500 in compensation directly to the victim and made subject to statutory notification requirements on the Sex Offenders Register for a duration of 10 years.
Image
Source Morecambe Bay
Author Jeremy Atkinson from Manchester, United Kingdom
Licence Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
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