Febuary 2012

Sex abuser bribed girl, 10, with money and alcohol

A sexual groomer who bribed a vulnerable young girl with cash and alcohol has been jailed for six years.

David Deam, aged 63, persuaded the girl to take part in sex acts with him when she was just ten and he was babysitting. He went on to abuse her repeatedly for six years.

He offered her £20 during his first attack and then used alcohol as an inducement as she got older, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Deam was jailed for six years after a judge heard the victim was particularly vulnerable because she suffered from illness and learning difficulties.

He was also ordered to sign on the sex offenders register for life and made subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order which bans him from ever having unsupervised contact with children.

Deam, of Higher Coombe Drive, Teignmouth, admitted inciting the girl to take part in sexual activity and four offences of sexual assault.

Judge Erik Salomonsen told him:”The victim was vulnerable and you knew that. She had health issues and learning difficulties which she had grappled with throughout her early years.

“She would have been more vulnerable to sexual abuse than a child who did not suffer those disabilities. I would describe this as a classic case of grooming over the years.”

Miss Emily Pitts, prosecuting, said Deam started abusing the child when her family asked him to help look after her because of her physical problems. The first assault took place when he was on a trip out with her in his car. Other attacks followed in his home and continued until she told her sister and mother last year.

He admitted assaulting her over a long period of time and offering her cash and alcohol at various stages.

Mr Rupert Taylor, defending, said there had been no threats or violence and Deam had admitted everything straight away to the police and pleaded guilty at his first hearing. He said: “He is somebody who could not make it plainer that he accepts his own defects and seeks to put them right. He is most suitable for a sex offender’s treatment programme.”