ALAN DART, PLYMOUTH OFFENDER, SENTENCED TO 18 YEARS FOR CHILD ABUSE

In September 2017, Alan Dart, a Plymouth man, was convicted of child abuse and sentenced to 18 years in prison, with an additional year on extended license. A jury at Exeter Crown Court dismissed Dart’s numerous false excuses, which even caused some jurors to laugh. Dart, who was homeless at the time, was offered an attic room by the mother of a ten-year-old girl. Unfortunately, he subsequently began grooming her for sexual activity.

Dart engaged in abuse over a three-year period, starting when the girl was just 11 years old. He manipulated her to the extent that she believed she was in love with him. His blatant behavior included tattooing her first name on his left forearm and sharing selfies where he hugged and kissed her.

Despite denying the allegations, claiming the tattoo referred to a 19-year-old girlfriend with the same name, the jury was unconvinced. Dart’s attempts to explain the Facebook messages he sent to the girl after their relationship ended were met with skepticism; some jurors laughed as he insisted the account was fake, even though it used his real name and displayed numerous photographs of him.

Dart, of Hampton Street, Plymouth, faced multiple charges—four counts of child rape, three counts of sexual assault, and five counts of sexual activity with a minor. The court heard how he had abused the girl until she was 14, when her mother finally threw Dart out of the house, and a child protection plan was introduced.

The sentencing judge, Recorder Miss Ros Collins, emphasized the betrayal of kindness involved. She stated: “Out of the goodness of her heart, this girl’s mother offered you a roof when you were homeless. She was being kind. The mother could not see what was happening under her nose, and you began a wholly inappropriate sexual relationship with a young girl who was just ten or eleven. She was child-like, immature, and vulnerable.

“It was that vulnerability you quickly spotted and exploited without regard for her well-being or the lasting psychological damage you caused. You used her purely for your own sexual desires and needs. I suspect she still does not fully understand the extent of the psychological harm you inflicted while she believed she was in love with you.

“You exploited her fragility for your own ends. The sentence must be very severe.”

The girl recounted how Dart moved into the household in 2007 when she was ten, and how he lured her into the attic to play computer games. She believed she was his girlfriend and thought she was in love with him at the time. The grooming and abuse persisted until she was 14, at which point her mother expelled Dart from their home and protective measures were put in place.