Operation Stovewood: rapist limo driver jailed for more than 20 years

David Saynor carried out attacks on girls, some as young as 12, after picking them up from care homes and schools

Author: Liam ArrowsmithPublished 15th Aug 2024

A driver has been jailed for 24 years after using his limousine business to sexually abuse young girls in Rotherham.

David Saynor, 77, would pick them up from care homes and schools and drive them to events like birthday parties and discos.

He would get to know his victims, some as young as just 12, by offering them jobs as promoters, before plying them with alcohol, cigarettes and drugs.

Saynor would then sexually abuse them, threatening to harm one of his victim's families, if she ever told them about him.

The 77-year-old was arrested in 2020 as part of Operation Stovewood, a long-running investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.

He died the offences, but was found guilty of four counts of rape, and a further seven sexual offences.

Sam Thompson, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS, said: “The way David Saynor groomed, threatened and coerced young girls in the community for his own depraved sexual desires, was both cruel and manipulative.

“Child sexual abuse can cause lifelong physical and emotional trauma. We are thankful to the victims in this case who came forward to tell the court what happened to them at the hands of Saynor.

"It is because of their evidence that we were able to build a strong case and help bring this sex offender to justice.

“I hope this conviction sends a clear message that the CPS, working alongside law enforcement, will relentlessly pursue justice and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, whenever that abuse takes place."

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