October 2026

Sex predator raped a woman and two children jailed

Neil Chiddy subjected a woman and two children to sexual abuse over several years. Now he has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The 49-year-old’s offending included grooming that escalated to repeated rape, the sexual abuse of children and the rape of an adult woman.

Chiddy, of no fixed abode, committed the offences in Wiltshire and the Bath and North East Somerset area. He was arrested in the West Midlands in November 2022 after one victim disclosed the abuse to their family and police several years after it happened.

Following a trial at Bristol Crown Court in July, a jury convicted him of nine offences:

• Two counts of raping a child.

• One count of raping a woman.

• Two counts of indecent assault.

• Three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

• One count of sexual assault against a child.

He was sentenced at the same court on Thursday, October 15, and given an indefinite restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his victims.

The court heard statements describing the lasting harm caused by his abuse. One victim said they had stayed silent for years, struggling with shame and fears about the impact on their family.

“I kept silent, I was ashamed and I was worried about the impact on my family,” they said.

They added: “To this day, I am still trying to process what on Earth had gone on.”

Avon and Somerset Police maintained contact with all three victims throughout the investigation and offered them access to support services.