RApist jAilED for 14 yEArs

Police praise victim’s bravery after she gave evidence twice

A man who raped a young girl three times after grooming her has been caged for 14 years after being convicted by a jury. John Burnley, 54, had been grooming and touching the girl – whocannotbeidentidied for legal reasons – for a period of twelve months before the rapes took place.

It only took two hours for the jury to find Burnley, from Alexander Road, Wisbech, guilty of three charges of raping a girl under 13 and four charges of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching following a seven day re-trial at Cambridge Crown Court in October.

He appeared back at the court last week where he was sentenced. The court was told the girl’s mother grew suspicious after overhearing her daughter on the phone to Burnley telling him she had ‘deleted the texts so mum doesn’t read them’. She asked her daughter what was going onandsheadmittedtheabuse to her.

Detective Constable Dianne Booth, who investigated for Cambridgeshire Police, praised the bravery of the victim, who gave evidence at court twice – once during the original trial and once at the retrial.

She said: “I want to commend the victim who had to give her evidence twice, due to the hungjuryat the first trial, andwasextremelybrave in doing so. I hope the sentence will providethevictimandher family with some closure and allow them to move on with the rest of their lives.”

Burnley wasgiven a 13 year sentence on each of the three rapes, to run concurrently to each other. He was given a 12 month sentence on each of the other counts, to run concurrent to each other but consecutivetotherapesentences.

A sexual harm prevention order has also been put in place banning Burnley from havingcontactwiththevictim andwitnesses in the case, and also from having contact with girls aged 16 or under without consent of parents or guardians who know of the convictions.

John Burnley