PENSIONER JAILED FOR RAPING GIRL
‘Repeated’ attacks 30 years ago:
A PENSIONER has been jailed for repeatedly raping a girl 30 years ago.
Frederick Graham Barber showed no emotion as he was led away to begin a 17-year sentence on Friday
The 77-year-old attacked the “particularly vulnerable” girl over a four-year period, with judge Huw Rees describing it as “persistent sexual abuse to satisfy your perverted sexual lust”.
Barber was found guilty of five charges of rape and five of indecent assault after a four-day trial at Caernarfon Crown Court. He was cleared of three rape charges. The jury heard Barber had already admitted three charges of indecent assault against the girl.
Elen Owen, prosecuting, said some offences took place in a vehicle owned by Barber.
The police had initially been informed of his behaviour in 1998, but no action was taken.
The victim, now in her late 40s, had made a full written complaint to police in 2015.
Ms Owen said Barber had started abusing the girl before she was a teenager, and this had “escalated in frequency and severity” as she had got older.
Defence barrister Gillian Batts said: “The defendant is likely to spend the rest of his days in custody.”
She added: “His health issues are bound to make his time in custody more difficult.”
The jury heard Barber, of Causeway Crescent, Huddersfield, but formerly of Anglesey, admitted “something had occurred” when the girl was 14, and claimed she was consenting to sex with him.