Man jailed for 14 years after raping young girl
A Heckmondwike man has been jailed after being found guilty of raping a child more than 40 years ago.
Alan Pearce, aged 70, of Priestley Avenue, was sentenced to 14 years in prison with a year’s extended licence on Thursday, October 15, for an offence of rape and three offences of indecent assault.
The offences occurred when the victim was a young child, and were reported by her in 2021.
Her report initiated an in-depth investigation by Kirklees child safeguarding detectives, resulting in Pearce being arrested in January 2023 and charged in April 2024.
He was found guilty of the offences on August 3 this year following a trial at Leeds Crown Court.
In addition to the jail sentence, Pearce was also made subject of a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Following the sentencing, safeguarding detectives have issued an appeal to potential further victims to come forward.
Temporary Detective Sergeant Paul Campbell, of the Child Protection Unit at Kirklees District, said: “We hope the sentence Pearce has received will be of some comfort to the victim, who has shown great courage in coming forward and reporting his crimes.
“Our investigation into his offending has suggested that there could be other victims who haven’t yet been identified, and we would like to take this opportunity to urge them to contact us and make a report to our specially-trained officers, who can provide support throughout the justice process.”
Reports can be made via 101, or by using www.westyorkshire.police.uk/livechat
More information about how to report being a victim of a sexual offence can be found on the West Yorkshire Police website at https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/WhenYouAreReady