BRIAN FAWCETT SENTENCED IN LEEDS FOR HISTORIC CHILD SEX ABUSE CASE
| Red Rose Database
Drighlington Rapist
In May 2014, a victim of a long-ago paedophile assailant described her attacker as “not human” and “soulless.” Brian Fawcett, 66, was sentenced to 20 years in prison at Leeds Crown Court after a detailed police investigation uncovered crimes dating back to 1975.
Stacey Foster, originally from Morley in Leeds, chose to waive her right to anonymity to speak openly about how the abuse affected her and to motivate other victims to come forward. The now 29-year-old recounted that Fawcett molested and raped her at his home in Drighlington when she was a teenager.
She stated: “He’s soulless, he has no conscience. He doesn’t care who or what he hurts. He’s so cold, it’s as if he’s not human. I don’t know how people can do the things he does and not feel anything. He used to sit there and laugh; he’s just evil through and through.”
Ms. Foster, who now resides in South Wales, met Fawcett through a boyfriend when she was 15. Initially, Fawcett made lewd comments, but the situation escalated quickly to physical assaults, including an incident in his garden.
She explained: “It got to a point where he had this hold over me. He told me that if I ever spoke out about it he wouldn’t go for me — he would go after the ones I love.”
Following her move away from Leeds, Ms. Foster contacted police last year after other victims came forward with reports of Fawcett’s attacks during their childhoods. Fawcett was convicted after a trial of 26 offences, including buggery, rape, and indecent assault on four children aged five to 17 between 1975 and 2001, along with an indecent assault against a 25-year-old woman.
A full-time mother of four, Ms. Foster shared her ongoing struggle, describing her life as “a complete mess” since the abuse. “I’m waiting for the healing process now. There’s a lot of years to make up,” she said.
She added: “I’ve spent all these years, every day thinking about him and what if I saw him again. Now that he’s gone, there’s this big empty space in my head that I don’t know what to do with. I’m having to retrain my thoughts. I used to wake up screaming or sweating from nightmares. It sounds strange, but I’ve been having normal dreams for the first time.”
Although she has not met the other victims who came forward, Ms. Foster expressed appreciation to them for reporting their abuse. She urged other potential victims to speak out: “There are others out there who haven’t come forward, and I think they should. If there’s one thing I could say to them, it’s that it’s over now, and hopefully we can start to rebuild our lives.”
Detective Inspector Lawrence Bone of the Leeds District Child Safeguarding Unit commented on the case, saying: “Fawcett was responsible for a sustained pattern of sexual abuse against vulnerable young children over a number of years. The significant sentence he has received reflects the seriousness with which these offences are treated by the courts. We hope that him answering for his crimes will bring some comfort to his victims.”
He further noted the complexity of the investigation, stating: “This was a lengthy and complex investigation that required a very sensitive approach from specialist safeguarding officers. We hope this case encourages other victims of similar crimes to come forward.”
Stacey Foster, originally from Morley in Leeds, chose to waive her right to anonymity to speak openly about how the abuse affected her and to motivate other victims to come forward. The now 29-year-old recounted that Fawcett molested and raped her at his home in Drighlington when she was a teenager.
She stated: “He’s soulless, he has no conscience. He doesn’t care who or what he hurts. He’s so cold, it’s as if he’s not human. I don’t know how people can do the things he does and not feel anything. He used to sit there and laugh; he’s just evil through and through.”
Ms. Foster, who now resides in South Wales, met Fawcett through a boyfriend when she was 15. Initially, Fawcett made lewd comments, but the situation escalated quickly to physical assaults, including an incident in his garden.
She explained: “It got to a point where he had this hold over me. He told me that if I ever spoke out about it he wouldn’t go for me — he would go after the ones I love.”
Following her move away from Leeds, Ms. Foster contacted police last year after other victims came forward with reports of Fawcett’s attacks during their childhoods. Fawcett was convicted after a trial of 26 offences, including buggery, rape, and indecent assault on four children aged five to 17 between 1975 and 2001, along with an indecent assault against a 25-year-old woman.
A full-time mother of four, Ms. Foster shared her ongoing struggle, describing her life as “a complete mess” since the abuse. “I’m waiting for the healing process now. There’s a lot of years to make up,” she said.
She added: “I’ve spent all these years, every day thinking about him and what if I saw him again. Now that he’s gone, there’s this big empty space in my head that I don’t know what to do with. I’m having to retrain my thoughts. I used to wake up screaming or sweating from nightmares. It sounds strange, but I’ve been having normal dreams for the first time.”
Although she has not met the other victims who came forward, Ms. Foster expressed appreciation to them for reporting their abuse. She urged other potential victims to speak out: “There are others out there who haven’t come forward, and I think they should. If there’s one thing I could say to them, it’s that it’s over now, and hopefully we can start to rebuild our lives.”
Detective Inspector Lawrence Bone of the Leeds District Child Safeguarding Unit commented on the case, saying: “Fawcett was responsible for a sustained pattern of sexual abuse against vulnerable young children over a number of years. The significant sentence he has received reflects the seriousness with which these offences are treated by the courts. We hope that him answering for his crimes will bring some comfort to his victims.”
He further noted the complexity of the investigation, stating: “This was a lengthy and complex investigation that required a very sensitive approach from specialist safeguarding officers. We hope this case encourages other victims of similar crimes to come forward.”