Dorset man jailed for child sex offences in Hampshire
22 year old Darren Marsh admitted the charges against him
A man from Dorset has been jailed for five years for the rape and sexual assault of a young child in Hampshire.
22 year old Darren Marsh from The Strete in Christchurch, admitted three offences which took place in New Milton in April last year.
He will also have to sign the sexual offender register for life, serve a 12-month extended period on licence on his release from prison and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order.
Detective Constable Dawn Capper, of the Child Abuse Investigation Team, said:
“I am so pleased for the young victim in this case that justice has now been served for them and their family, and that Marsh has now been placed behind bars, where he belongs.
“While I know this result won’t rid them of the memories of what Marsh did, I truly hope it allows them to move forward with their life, safe in the knowledge that he can no longer harm any other children.
“I also hope this sentence will reassure other victims that they will be listened to when reporting similar incidents to us.
“We encourage other victims to come forward and speak to us. We take allegations of this nature extremely seriously and work hard to bring offenders to justice.
“This should also be a very clear message to other offenders out there that we will always work tirelessly to ensure you are brought to justice.
“I would also like to thank everyone else who assisted in getting this conviction.”
Anyone who has any concerns about child abuse should contact police on 101, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Those who've experienced abuse in childhood, or is concerned about a child, can contact the NSPCC helpline, confidentially, on 0808 800 5000.
Children can also contact Childline on 0800 1111.