Paedophile from Wisbech jailed for 14 years
He assaulted a schoolgirl repeatedly over a period of five years
A paedophile from Wisbech or sexually assaulted a schoolgirl over a period of five years has been jailed for 14 years.
Elton Townend-Jones, who's 51 and from Church Road in Walpole St Peter, began the sexual abuse in Cambridge in 2015 - it continued until 2020.
The offences only came to light when a relative of the girl spotted something suspicious and called police.
In a police interview following his arrested in June 2020, he denied the offences and claimed he didn't know why the girl would accuse him of rape or sexual assault.
In a second interview he answered 'no comment' to all questions.
Townend-Jones stood trial at Cambridge Crown Court in February where jurors found him guilty of 11 counts. These were:
Three counts of rape
Two counts of assaulting a child under the age of 13 on at least 10 occasions
One count of assaulting a child under the age of 13 on at least five occasions
One count of assault by penetration on at least five occasions
Three counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 on at least five occasions
One count of sexual activity with a child on at least five occasions
He was jailed for a total of 14 years and must serve two thirds of his sentence before being considered for release.
Townend-Jones was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to monitor any future offending and a restraining order preventing him from contacting his victim, both indefinitely.
DC Susan Brown, who investigated, said: “Townend-Jones’ horrific sexual abuse of his victim went undetected for years and I am pleased he has finally been brought to justice.
“Regardless of when it happened, we will always take reports of sexual offences, including child sex abuse, incredibly seriously.
“Protecting young people from harm is one of our top priorities and we have specially trained officers who are there to support victims and bring offenders to justice.
“The defendant’s abuse has had a huge impact on his victim and I hope she can now find some closure from this traumatic period of her life.”