December 2022

Paedophile jailed for over 20 years for sexual assaults of under 16s

A paedophile who began sexually assaulting four young victims has now been jailed for more than 21 years.

Dean Nicholson, 56, targeted his victims, who were all known to him, between 1992 and 2004 in Huntingdonshire.

He was 26 when he began the abuse against his victims, one of whom was just six years old at the time. Others were slightly older, but all were under 16.

Often he would make his victims perform sexual acts on him or he would perform sexual acts on them. The offences finally came to light when the victims confided in others close to them.

Nicholson, of Station Road, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, was arrested and later charged with 22 offences.

He stood trial at Cambridge Crown Court in November but, on the fourth day, he pleaded guilty to 15 offences.

These included five counts of gross indecency with a child and eight counts of indecent assault. He also admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) against a separate adult victim in 1991.

Nicholson was sentenced at the same court on Friday (December 16) where he was handed 21 years and seven months in prison. He was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to run indefinitely, which will monitor his future activity.

Sentencing, Judge Philip Grey said by the time Nicholson had pleaded guilty at his trial, two of his victims had already given evidence and the voices of all his victims were ‘heard loud and clear by the court’

He told Nicholson that he had sexualised, abused and groomed his victims over many years and paid tribute to the victims for coming forward.