April 2022

Musician jailed for meeting young girls on Facebook and raping them

A musician has been jailed for meeting young girls on Facebook and raping them.

Cassius Povey was jailed for 17 years yesterday

The serial sexual predator who preyed on fans after befriending them online was a well-known figure on Leicester’s live music scene.

The 29-year-old male has now been locked up for a catalogue of 19 crimes against nine young girls – five of whom he raped.

Leicester Crown Court heard that he was finally “outed” by a former victim, who exposed his wrongdoing on Facebook, and he was arrested in Grimsby, where he was living, in July 2020.

One victim became pregnant at just 14 and had an abortion without telling her parents.

Another was tied to a bed and repeatedly hit with a cane

Povey also sat and watched one distraught child take an overdose before making her vomit – and then raped her as she lay on a bed semi-conscious and confused.

Eight of the victims were aged between 14 and 15.

The ninth was 19 years old when he raped her in a park.

Leicester Crown Court was told he had “no respect” for his troubled and vulnerable victims. He was motivated purely by self-gratification as he “controlled and manipulated” them to satisfy his desires.

Povey won his victims’ trust with outpourings of affection and repeatedly told them how “beautiful and amazing” they were. He told two of his victims after he committed violent assaults that he suffered from schizophrenia and that he could not control the actions of his “evil twin”.

He attempted a public apology, but the police were notified of the social media comments and investigated.

Povey formerly lived in a bedsit in the Aylestone Road area of Leicester – before fleeing to live Elsenham Road, Grimsby, where he was arrested in July 2020.

Povey was convicted of the following charges:

  • Eight counts of rape, which he was found guilty of following a trial, as he denied these offences.

  • He pleaded guilty to 13 counts of sexual activity with a child, which was for having sex with girls when they were not old enough to give their consent. However, he was only sentenced for nine of these 13 counts, as four were alternative lesser charges to some of the rapes.

  • He pleaded guilty to inciting a child to engage in sexual activity 

  • He also pleaded guilty to meeting a child following sexual grooming.

Sentencing, Judge Robert Brown said: “The victims were vulnerable females and eight of them were under 16 at the time of these offences, all with mental health problems and difficult relationships at home with parents. You were a prominent and popular local musician and they liked you.

“You gained their trust and they unloaded their problems onto you and you displayed sympathy, before abusing them. Alcohol and drugs were used in some cases.

“I find you arrogant, you showed no remorse during your trial and maintained all your sexual encounters were with the victims’ consent. You might express remorse now, but you didn’t then. You’ve been in denial. I find you to be manipulative and cunning.

“These girls were mostly naïve with no sexual experience, many being virgins. You plied them with alcohol and introduced a number of them to drugs with the aim of controlling them.

“You targeted them by befriending them through Facebook and social media and it wasn’t difficult because they were fans of your music – you had a significant following. Mr Povey, you’re a predator who used emotional manipulation against them all.

“You pretended to two of them you had schizophrenia to exert control over them to satisfy yourself sexually. It was a lifestyle for you. You had no respect for any of your victims – it was all for self-gratification. You were exposed on social media by one of the victims, who displayed courage and others shared their stories too.”

The judge added a three-year licence period extension to the 17-year prison sentence.