January 2023

Telford paedophile who kept ‘extensive’ record of abuse in diary is jailed for 15 years

A paedophile who subjected a girl to vile abuse from the age of eight has been jailed for 15 years.

Andrew Telford, aged 61, subjected the victim to a campaign of abuse, and Shrewsbury Crown Court heard how it had happened “thousands of times.”

Telford’s victim said he has “stolen my childhood” in an impact statement which Judge Peter Barrie described as “eloquent and insightful”.

The court was also told that the victim had planned not to tell anyone until Telford had died, but a friend she confided in urged her to call the police.

Telford was arrested on June 26 last year, and a search of his property revealed an “extensive” diary of abuse he had committed.

Officers also discovered a camcorder and a list of outfits he had used and a script for an explicit movie that prosecutor Ben Lawrence said Telford was “clearly fantasising about making”.