Essex man jailed 24 years for child sex offences
68 year old, of Fal Drive, Witham was convicted of 26 offences
Last updated 15th Nov 2021
A man has been sentenced to 24 years in jail, with a further year on extended licence for child sex offences in Essex.
68 year old Albert Kirk, of Fal Drive in Witham, had denied 26 offences but was convicted of them all on 5 October following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court:
• Three counts of rape;
• Three counts of attempted rape;
• 12 counts of sexual assault;
• Six counts of indecent assault;
• One count of assault by penetration;
• One count of indecency with a child.
The offences relate to three children that took place in the 1980s and 2010s in Chelmsford and Witham.
One of the victim's has thanked the Child Abuse Investigation Team for helping bring Kirk to justice.
“I thought after the court hearing I would feel a bit better, but I don’t and it has badly affected my mental health.
“What he did has affected my whole life and has impacted my physical health too. I can’t hold a relationship down and it’s affected relationships with my family.
“No matter how they punish him, it can’t make what he did any better. He has already done the damage.
“I keep having bad nightmares, sometimes I think they’re real.
“I believe there may be many children out there that he has abused and who haven’t come forward, I hope that they can now speak out.
“I also believe someone like that preys on his victims and carefully selects them.
“I would encourage other people to come forward because this sort of thing has to stop.
“I can’t bear the thought of someone doing that to another child and that is why I have spoken out about what he did.
“There isn’t enough help out there and years ago, my ex-partner paid for counselling for me, but it didn’t work because it’s deep in my heart and it won’t go away, I have to live with it every day.
“I don’t think there is enough counselling out there for child abuse and there should be more funding for it.
“I hope that changes in the future.
“I want to thank the judge and jury for believing me.
“I want to thank my Independent Sexual Violence Advisor, Claire Rooney from CARA, I couldn’t have done it without her.
“Thank you too to DC Siobhann Murphy, DC Eden Quinn, and the Investigation Support Officers Alexandra Head and Gavin Hallett for their help.”
A woman, one of Kirk's victims, who wishes to remain anonymous
“I want pay tribute to the courage of the victims abused by Albert Kirk.
“It has taken incredible bravery to report what has happened to them and re-live that ordeal.
“It has had a profound affect on them and I hope seeing Kirk brought to justice because of their courageousness will help them move forward.”
Detective Constable Siobhann Murphy, from our Child Abuse Investigation Team