Man jailed for non-recent sexual abuse of a child in Gloucestershire

A 65 year-old man has been jailed for eight years after admitting to multiple child sex offences committed in Gloucestershire in the 1990s.

Brian Cooke, of Selby, North Yorkshire, was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court on Thursday 13 February after pleading guilty to eight counts of indecent assault on a child between the ages of six and 16.

The court was told the investigation began in 2022 after the victim contacted police to report that Cooke had sexually abused her on multiple occasions between 1990 and 2000.

He would give the victim treats and gifts after he had abused her and would tell her not to tell anyone what had happened.

Cooke was subsequently arrested by police and initially denied the allegations in interview.

Following an investigation by Gloucestershire Police's Criminal Investigations Department, he was charged with the offences.

Before sentencing, His Honour Judge Lowe also took Cooke's seven previous convictions for sexual offences into consideration.

As well as being jailed for eight years, Cooke was also placed on the sex offenders' register for life

In mitigation, Cooke apologised for his offending and said he had been drinking a lot of alcohol at the time he carried out the abuse.

In a statement read out in court, the victim said the traumatic abuse she suffered has had a devastating impact on her life: “I was just a small child when my life changed and I didn’t know why. Why was it me, was I that easy to manipulate? I was only six-years-old. Was this normal?

“For over 34 years I’ve had to live with regret and anxiousness. I went through alcoholism due to depression and medicated due to nightmares and the reliving of my past. I also have PTSD.

“In the end my mental health got so bad it nearly broke my marriage and I had to do something about it, so I made the hardest decision of my life and finally came forward and I was believed and I hope that from me doing this it will bring some closure and help other victims come forward and be heard and believed.

“My childhood was stolen from me and the past is still haunting me; still ruining my adulthood, but with counselling, guidance and help, I will overcome this and I will eventually be able to help people like myself be heard and believed and overcome being a victim of abuse to being a survivor of abuse.”

Detective Constable Helen Goode from the Criminal Investigations Department said: "These are abhorrent crimes that have had a long-lasting effect on the victim. It took immense bravery and courage to report them to us years later and for her to relive those traumatic experiences and I commend her for doing so.

“I hope it brings some reassurance that the man who did this to her is now paying for his crimes and can no longer pose a threat to others as he is behind bars.

“I also hope this will encourage others who may have suffered similar experiences to come forward and report them to us – no matter how long ago the abuse took place.

“When you report these crimes, you will be listened to, you will be believed and we will do all we can to hold these dangerous individuals accountable for their actions”.

If someone has sexually assaulted you, help is available. Police have specially trained officers who can provide support and investigate these type of offences.

Call 999 in an emergency, report by calling 101 or online here: Rape, sexual assault or another sexual offence | Police.uk (www.police.uk)

Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre provide support for all survivors of sexual violence, for more information visit: Home | Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre