In 2026, the Offender Register reported that Alan Ward was jailed today (7 July) for several sexual offences which took place in the 1980s and 1990s in South Kirkby.
He was in his 30s when he started a sexual relationship with the victim, who was 14 at the time. The relationship continued until she was in her late teens.
During her early teens, the court was told how Ward, who worked at a petrol station on Barnsley Road in South Kirkby, would sexually assault the girl.
During the first incident, Ward told the victim: “I’m getting you ready for when you’re sixteen.”
Alan Ward was reported by the victim in 2020. This prompted an investigation by the Wakefield District Safeguarding Unit, which resulted in Ward, who had previously worked as an ice cream vendor, being charged with non-recent sexual offences.
Ward denied the allegations that were levelled against him. However, following a trial at Leeds Crown Court, he was convicted of four counts of indecently assaulting a girl under the age of 16 that occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Additionally, he was convicted of a separate sex offence (buggery) that occurred during the same time frame.
Alan Ward, 71, of Barnsley Road, South Kirkby, was sentenced to 13 years in concurrent prison today at Leeds Crown Court.
ELIGIBLE FOR RELEASE – 2033
Image Credit – West Yorkshire Police
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