July 2008

Paedophile preyed on vulnerable young victims

A PROLIFIC paedophile who embarked on a 14-year-long campaign of abuse has been jailed for 11 years.

Adrian Eves, of Woodford Lane, Winsford, befriended vulnerable children and plied them with alcohol before sexually abusing them, Warrington Crown Court heard on Tuesday, July 1.

The fourty-five-year-old began his abuse in 1983, subjecting innocent youngsters to a string of sexual attacks in what Recorder of Chester Judge Elgan Edwards branded, ‘one of the worst cases’, he had seen.

Eves pleaded guilty to 28 sexual offences between 1983 and 1997, including rape in 1989, three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, one charge of buggery, ten indecent assaults, eight counts of indecency with a child and five offences of taking indecent photographs.

All offences were committed in and around Winsford.

Sentencing, Judge Edwards said: “You have reason to be ashamed. Over a period of 10 to 14 years you abused young children. This is one of the worst cases of its kind that I have come across.”

He commended the Child Protection Team at Northwich Police Station for its hard work considering the complexities involved in the investigation.

In a statement, officers Det Const Janet Bickle and PC Richard Wagner said: “From an early stage it was clear that this was going to be a complex investigation. We started with one victim and in a short space of time we realised we had other victims.

“We are satisfied with the sentence. His victims were young, vulnerable children. They have had to carry the burden of what he did to them for many years.

“This is often a hidden crime. We would like to assure people that if they have been a victim of this sort of offence they will find the police are extremely supportive, both during the investigation and subsequent trial.

“The victims now have families of their own and it was a big step for them to come forward. It is only through their courage that we have been able to ensure that this man cannot harm any more children.”