Icklingham man jailed for 20 years

A man from Icklingham has been jailed for 20 years for a series of sexual crimes against children.

56 year old Richard Taylor (above) of West Street in Icklingham was jailed at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday 20 September.

He was sentenced to 20 years in jail and two years on extended licence after he was found guilty during a trial.

He was charged with a total of 17 offences of sexual activity against children and was found guilty of one count of rape, six offences of indecent assault of a male, and nine counts of gross indecency with a child. The offences all took place between 1999 and 2003.

Investigating officer DC Jen Botting said: “I’d like to pay tribute to the immense bravery and courage of both victims and their families. This was a highly complex and difficult case to investigate and without their evidence, it would have been extremely hard to secure this conviction and sentence against Taylor.

“As a consequence of Taylor’s not guilty plea, the victims had to endure revisiting their horrific and distressing experiences as part of the evidence heard during the nine day trial.  I hope the sentence passed provides some level of closure and allows them to move forward with their lives.

“I also hope this case demonstrates just how Suffolk police is committed to fully investigating any allegation of sexual assault, be it recent or non-recent as was the case here and will provide the highest level of support and care to any victim whilst a thorough investigation is carried out.”

Child abuse is often a hidden crime, and we work to ensure that the voice of the child is heard and concerns of abuse or neglect are reported and investigated. The Suffolk Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), which involves police, county council, education and health, among others works to address issues of risk of harm, abuse and neglect.

If you are concerned about an immediate risk to the safety of a child, please call Customer First on 0808 800 4005. In an emergency, call the police on 999. If you are worried that a child or young person is at risk of abuse or neglect, please make a referral using the Suffolk Children and Young People's Portal.

More details on the Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership children's website. https://www.suffolksp.org.uk/concerned/

More details on what to do such as how to report it and advice if you know someone who has been abused can be found on our website> Advice about child abuse | Suffolk Constabulary