July 2006

Man, 36, jailed for raping schoolgirl

A GWENT man was jailed for ten years yesterday for committing a sex attack on a schoolgirl in his car on an isolated mountainside road.

Brian Lloyd, 36, from Pontllanfraith, was convicted of one charge of rape by a jury after a trial last month.

Lloyd, of Brynteg Avenue, was found guilty of making the girl carry out a sex act on him in January this year.

The jury cleared him of a number of other serious sexual assault allegations after a trial at Newport crown court.

Lloyd was acquitted of another rape, four charges of indecent assault, two charges of indecency with a child and one charge of sexual assault.

All the charges he was cleared of were alleged to have taken place when the girl was under 13.

The prosecution claimed Lloyd drove the girl to the remote spot after pretending they were going to a nearby shop.

During the trial, the victim told the court: “It was scary. He was pushing me into doing things.”

She said after the attack in the car she decided to tell the police.

Under cross-examination Tracey Lloyd-Nesling, defending Lloyd, accused the girl of lying to get Lloyd into “big, big trouble”.

Lloyd denied all the offences and said he had never touched the girl sexually or got her to touch him.

Yesterday Ms Lloyd-Nesling said in mitigation that Lloyd “maintains his innocence as he always has”.

She said: “Many references speak well of him he is clearly liked, respected and thought very highly of.

“His conviction has come as a big shock to those who know him.”

Judge Christopher Vosper, QC, said he was following new sentencing guidelines in jailing Lloyd for ten years.

The judge said he would be eligible for parole after serving half his sentence.

Lloyd was disqualified from working with children and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.