Man jailed for 10 years for historic sexual offences against a teenager
Darren Fawcett, 45, carried out the assaults between 2009 and 2010
A man from Coventry has been jailed for 10 years for historic sexual offences after he was found guilty of grooming a young teenage girl and then raping her.
Darren Fawcett was also handed a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) lasting 25 years when he was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court last Friday (October 6).
Fawcett, aged 45, from Leicester Causeway, was found guilty following a trial after pleading not guilty to a charge of rape and five counts of sexual activity with a child between July 2009 and July 2010.
The woman came forward to speak to us in 2020. We carried out a video recorded interview with her and the details she provided was crucial in securing a conviction.
The sexual activity carried on with Fawcett and her for a year and she described having multiple sexual encounters with him in the back of his car and at his home address.
When we arrested Fawcett he denied any form of sexual engagement or relationship with her. However, the evidence she provided and those also provided by witnesses secured his conviction.
She suffered long term psychological trauma as a result of his actions against her in her childhood years.
The SHPO prohibits Fawcett from having any unsupervised contact with a female under the age of 16 and preventing him from living in the same household of a female under the age of 16 years. This is in place for a 25 year period.
"She has shown great courage to come forward"
DC Suzanne Leah, from Child Abuse Protection at Coventry, who led the investigation, said:
“She was groomed by Fawcett and raped by him. Sexual activity between Fawcett and her happened over the course of a year.
“She has shown great courage to come forward and throughout this investigation. Fawcett denied the charges forcing her to have the traumatic experience of giving evidence in court. He has shown no signs of remorse for what he did.
“We hope her bravery encourages others subjected to sexual abuse and rape to come forward. We are here to help and listen.”
The Child Abuse Protection team are specially trained to deal sensitively with sexual abuse survivors, offer them support and guide them through the court process.
It is important to note that survivors of rape are protected by law and have life-long anonymity.
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