ANTHONY BLAIR SENTENCED FOR RAPE OF 9-YEAR-OLD IN BROMLEY AND BRIXTON

In a case that has shocked the local communities of Bromley and Brixton, Anthony Rickman Blair, aged 36, was found guilty of heinous crimes involving a young girl. Blair, a resident of Cotton Hill in Bromley, was convicted of raping a nine-year-old girl and subjecting her to sexual assault when she stayed at his mother’s house in Brixton approximately ten years ago.

According to court records, the victim, who is now 20 years old, decided to come forward with her story out of concern for her own safety and the safety of her children. Her decision to report the incident was prompted by fears that Blair might pose a threat to his own offspring. The case initially appeared to be heading toward a trial at the Old Bailey earlier this year. However, Blair chose to plead guilty on the very first day of proceedings, admitting to the charges of rape and two counts of indecent assault, which resulted in the trial being bypassed.

Prosecutor Sarah Plaschkes detailed the disturbing events during the court hearing. She explained that Blair had assaulted the young girl while she was staying at his mother’s residence in Brixton. During this visit, Blair was seen playing on his computer, but the situation took a dark turn when he proceeded to rape her. To silence her, he instructed her to swear on the Bible not to tell anyone about what had happened. The court was also informed that Blair committed two additional sexual assaults at his home, further compounding the severity of his crimes.

The abuse did not end there. A few years later, Blair entered the girl’s room while she was asleep. However, upon her pleas for him to leave, he was overwhelmed with emotion and began sobbing, indicating a complex and troubling psychological state. The victim’s courage in confiding in a friend eventually led to the revelation of the abuse to her family. Blair, who was married and a father at the time, initially confessed to the assault but denied the rape, and police were not involved at that stage.

The situation escalated when the girl, driven by fear for her own daughter’s safety, decided to report Blair to the authorities. This led to a police investigation that confirmed the allegations. During the trial, Blair’s defense lawyer, Christopher Morris, argued that Blair had no prior sexual experience at the time of the assaults. He claimed that Blair was not a predatory paedophile, suggesting that if he had been, there would have been a pattern of similar offenses over the ten-year period since the incidents occurred.

On May 1, Judge Elgan Edwards sentenced Blair to a total of six years in prison for the rape, with additional sentences of three years and two years for the indecent assaults, to run concurrently. The court also imposed a lifelong ban on Blair working with children and mandated that he be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life, reflecting the gravity of his crimes and the need for ongoing public safety measures.