BRIAN ASH FROM MILLENDREATH SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES IN CORNWALL

In a case that has spanned decades, Brian Dennis Ash, a resident of Millendreath near Looe in south east Cornwall, was sentenced to five years in prison for heinous sexual offences committed against a young girl more than 40 years ago. The offences, which took place between 1971 and 1980, involved seven counts of indecent assault on a victim who was under the age of 14 at the time.

During the proceedings at Truro Crown Court, Judge Christopher Elwen made a rare decision to amend the original charges against Ash, taking into account specific details about the victim’s age. This legal adjustment allowed the court to impose a more severe sentence than the maximum two-year term that the initial charges would have permitted. Ash, who also pleaded guilty to more serious offences, was ultimately sentenced to five years in prison.

Prosecutor Iain Leadbetter described Ash’s actions as driven by a desire to satisfy his own sick needs. He stated, “Ash was satisfying his own sick needs. As his victim reached her teenage years she did not trust people or make friends so she comforted herself by drinking.”

Defence attorney Chris Andrews, who highlighted Ash’s severe dementia, argued that sending his client to prison would be “the last meaningful act in his life,” emphasizing the elderly man’s fragile mental state.

Judge Elwen, in delivering the sentence, expressed his condemnation of Ash’s actions, stating that the offender had “ruined the victim’s life,” and underscored the lasting impact of the crimes committed so many years ago. The case has brought to light the long-lasting scars inflicted by childhood abuse and the importance of justice, regardless of the passage of time.