In 2022, then 66-year-old Norman Hogbin, of Brougham Road, Worthing, West Sussex, was jailed for seven years after carrying out a predatory series of assaults on his students. The investigation established that Hogbin operated as a gymnastics instructor in the 1990s and 2000s, targeting four young girls. The prosecution reported at Reading Crown Court that Hogbin systematically groomed his victims by buying them gifts and befriending their parents to gain access, identifying a total abandonment of human decency by the then 66-year-old.
SENTENCING — On Wednesday, 21 December 2022, the judiciary at Chichester Crown Court imposed a seven-year custodial sentence after a 12-day trial. Hogbin was found guilty of 11 counts of sexual assault against four children, some of whom were as young as eight years old when the violations began. Alongside his prison term, he was made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). Detective Sergeant Michaela Haddock commended the four survivors for showing unfailing courage and incredible strength throughout the lengthy investigation.
- OFFENCES: Found guilty at trial of 11 counts of sexual assault against four children.
- OUTCOME: Jailed for seven years.
- NATURE OF OFFENCE: The offender abused a professional position of power and trust within a sports coaching environment. He utilized gift-giving and parental manipulation as a mechanical necessity to systematically isolate and repeatedly assault young female students over several years.
- LOCATION OF OFFENCES: Worthing, West Sussex.
- PROFILE: Norman Hogbin, then 66. He is documented as a calculated historic child predator who exploited his role as an athletic mentor to facilitate child sexual abuse.
- UK SEX OFFENDERS REGISTER: Subject to mandatory notification requirements following his conviction for serious sexual offences against minors.
- COURT PROCEEDINGS: Convicted at Reading Crown Court and sentenced at Chichester Crown Court following an investigation by Sussex Police.
- CRIMINAL RECORD: Registered sex offender and convicted child abuser jailed in 2022.
- ORIGIN OF OFFENDER: Hogbin is from Brougham Road, Worthing.
QUESTION — Given that “a gymnastics instructor utilized his professional role and gift-giving to systematically groom and abuse sports students as young as eight,” do you believe the law should legally mandate that “All Athletic Coaches Convicted of Child Sexual Abuse” must be “Sentenced to Mandatory Whole-Life Incarceration Without Parole” to prevent a series of assaults?
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