A 60-year-old Cheshire man who subjected a five-year-old girl to repeated sexual assaults, including an offence of penetration, received an 11-year prison sentence with an extended licence period at Chester Crown Court.
Adrian White, residing at Heatley Way in Handforth, appeared in the dock for sentence on Friday 24 January 2025 following a seven-day Crown Court trial in October 2024 where jurors rejected his denials and returned guilty verdicts on all counts.
The criminal inquiry commenced on 1 June 2023 when Cheshire Police were notified of safeguarding concerns regarding the five-year-old girl. Specialist officers conducted video-recorded interviews with the young child, during which she made disclosures detailing sexual abuse and clearly identified White as the individual responsible.
Detectives arrested White on 2 June 2023 and conducted inquiries that established he had sexually assaulted the five-year-old child on at least two separate occasions, alongside committing an act of sexual assault by penetration.
At trial, White maintained that no offences had taken place, but jurors deliberated and found him guilty of:
One count of sexual assault by penetration
Sexual assault on at least two other occasions
Detective Constable Alison Shields, of Cheshire Police, said:”I am grateful for the sentence handed to White, who will now spend a considerable amount of time behind bars reflecting on the severity of what he has done. White committed some horrific crimes against an incredibly young, innocent child, who did not deserve to be put through that ordeal. I would like to commend her for her bravery. Despite being so young, she was able to summon the courage to tell officers what had happened to her in a video interview, and she showed levels of bravery beyond her years. It was thanks to her disclosures that we were able to gather evidence against White and secure charges. Even after he tried to deny the offences, thanks to the evidence against him, the jury found him guilty, and he is now in prison where he cannot subject anyone else to these abhorrent crimes.”
Under the provisions of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, the child victim is protected by mandatory, lifelong statutory anonymity. Any publication, broadcast, or public dissemination of information capable of leading to the identification of the child is strictly prohibited under UK law.
Sentencing White, the presiding judge highlighted the profound breach of trust and the extreme youth of the innocent victim, ordering him to serve an immediate custodial term of 11 years, coupled with an extended licence period of one year to protect the public upon eventual release.
In addition to the custodial sentence, White was made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), ordered to comply with notification requirements on the Sex Offenders Register for life, and issued with a restraining order strictly prohibiting contact with the victim.
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
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