Leek Post & Times

Picture of the week

Pervert, 74, is already serving 17 years in prison

- By Post & Times reporter newsdesk@thepostand­times.co.uk

Snappersqu­ad member Tammy Mellor, 44 from Leek, photograph­ed this owl on the Moorlands.

A JAILED paedophile has been sentenced to a further four years in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting a girl.

Pensioner Ivan Keeling was found guilty of nine sexual offences following a trial at Stoke-on-trent Crown Court.

It comes as he is already serving a 17year sentence after being convicted of various offences, including the rape of a girl under the age of 13, in 2018.

Now Recorder Julian Taylor has handed the 74-year-old, formerly of Hammersley Hayes Road, Cheadle, a further four-year sentence following his latest conviction, which will run consecutiv­e to his previous sentence.

The jury found Keeling guilty of five counts of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 14, and two counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

He was also convicted of one count of sexual assault on a child under 16, and one count of causing a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity.

Prosecutor David Pojur said: “This has had a very significan­t impact on the victim.

“There have been long-lasting effects that have changed her behaviour and made things significan­tly more difficult for her.”

Peter Mccartney, mitigating, asked the court to take into account Keeling’s advanced age and the fact that he had not been in prison before his 2018 conviction.

Mr Mccartney said: “He’s plainly serving a very long sentence. This is his first taste of custody, at a very advanced age, and plainly that will affect him more than someone who has experience­d such a thing very early in life.”

Recorder Taylor told Keeling that his most serious offences were the two counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, for which he handed him a four-year sentence.

He received shorter, concurrent sentences for the other charges.

Recorder Taylor said: “The jury found you guilty of nine counts of sexual assault and various charges – what they amounted to was sexual abuse of the victim.”

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Ivan Keeling.
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