‘Dangerous’ child rapist gets 29 years
ACHILD rapist who abused two girls in a terrifying campaign spanning over two decades has been jailed for 29 years.
David Charles Holland, 56, of Prestatyn, pictured, had tried to adopt a child aged five or over and is still a danger to the public, Mold Crown Court heard.
Last month, he was found guilty of 20 charges described as some of the “most chilling and serious cases” a judge had ever heard.
They included eight counts of rape, one sexual assault, seven indecent assaults, indecency with a child, encouraging a child to engage in sexual activity, making a threat to kill and distributing indecent images of a child.
The girls, who cannot be identified, were both under the age of seven when the abuse started.
Yesterday, Judge Niclas Parry said Holland, who appeared via video link from HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, had caused his older victim “terror and pain and gratuitous degradation”.
The court heard that Holland had started abusing the first victim in the mid-1990s for around 10 years, then the second girl some years later.
He was arrested in May 2019 when the second girl reported the abuse to her father.
Prosecutor Anna Pope insisted that Holland remains a danger to the public. She said Holland poses “a clear and significant risk to children to which his attitude is one of contempt.”
He had registered with one adoption agency and prepared an application for another to try to adopt a child over five.
She also pointed out that Holland had once rented a house which remained largely empty but with encrypted images of children on “thumb drives” hidden in a hollow compartment of a hoover and in a small plastic bag in the gas meter cupboard.
Ms Pope said his older victim is still affected. She said this victim is “paranoid” that she will meet Holland on walks and has reverted to childhood fears and anxieties. She quoted the victim as saying: “I worry that one day he will be free and come to find me and my family for revenge.”
Simon Rogers, defending Holland, said it was “extremely important” when assessing his future risk for the court to note that Holland will be an “old man” when he is released. He opposed a life sentence.
Jailing Holland for the extended sentence, Judge Parry said he had shown a “chilling lack of empathy.”
The judge said he had got the older girl to swear on a Bible or warning her she would “die and go to Hell” if she reported him. He also held a knife to her throat saying her blood would “drain in four minutes” if he cut her. He further sent a photo of a burning toy doll. He imposed a restraining order banning Holland indefinitely from direct or indirect contact with his victims.
Holland was sentenced to 29 years and was put on licence for five years. The court heard he must serve at least 19 years and four months before being eligible for parole.