Adriaan Spenkelink, aged 41, formerly of Bulwer Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, has been handed an 18-year extended sentence after being convicted of a series of grave sexual offences against two young girls, including an attempted rape of a six-year-old child.
The court heard that Spenkelink, a former chef originally from the Netherlands, deliberately engineered situations between 2020 and 2021 to place himself in positions where he could gain unsupervised access to young children.
Prosecuting barristers outlined how Spenkelink commenced the abuse against his youngest victim when she was six years old.
In what the sentencing judge characterised as a calculated attempt to groom the child and make sexual abuse appear normal, Spenkelink forced the girl to watch sexually explicit adult pornography.
His conduct rapidly escalated into severe physical abuse.
Spenkelink subjected the child to sexual touching, coerced her into touching him, and attempted to carry out an oral rape.
The attempted rape was prevented solely because the young girl mounted a determined physical resistance against him.
The abuse finally came to an end when the victim realised the conduct was wrongful and found the courage to disclose the matters to a trusted adult.
The resulting child protection and police inquiry uncovered that the six-year-old was not his sole victim; detectives established that Spenkelink had also carried out sexual abuse against another schoolgirl, who was 11 years old at the time.
In a powerful victim impact statement presented during the sentencing hearing, the younger child—now aged 12—described the profound and permanent consequences the offences have had on her development.
The court learned that the trauma manifested in severe physical stress symptoms requiring hospital treatment, leading medical professionals to suspect acute underlying trauma.
The victim expressed that the abuse had permanently distorted her perceptions of trust, marriage, relationships, and the prospect of having children in adulthood.
Throughout the legal proceedings, Spenkelink displayed no remorse.
Following a Crown Court trial, jurors returned unanimous guilty verdicts on seven offences:
- Attempted rape of a child under 13
- Two counts of sexual assault of a child by touching
- Two counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity
- Two counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity
Even after the jury returned their verdicts, Spenkelink continued to protest his innocence, shouting that his young victims were liars as dock officers escorted him down to the holding cells.
Sentencing him, Recorder Emma Nash identified Spenkelink as a dangerous offender under statutory sentencing guidelines, concluding that he posed a significant risk of causing serious harm through further specified offences.
Recorder Nash passed an extended determinate sentence of 18 years, comprising a custodial term of 17 years (204 months) and an extended licence period of one year.
In addition to the prison sentence, Spenkelink was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register and made subject to a 25-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) placing rigorous prohibitions on his contact with children and internet use.
Release Calculation: Because Spenkelink was classified as a dangerous offender and received an extended determinate sentence, automatic statutory release does not apply. He must serve a minimum of two-thirds of the 17-year custodial term (11 years and four months / 136 months) in prison custody before becoming eligible to apply for release. His release at that stage is not guaranteed and remains entirely at the discretion of the Parole Board, which must be satisfied that his detention is no longer necessary for the protection of the public. If released, he will serve the remainder of the 17-year term plus the one-year extension on licence under the supervision of the Probation Service.
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