May 2011 ‘I raped a child hundreds of times’: Ex-prison officer, 68, walks up to policeman to confess 20 YEARS after attacks A former prison officer has been jailed after confessing to raping a girl hundreds of times 20 years ago. Christopher Pearce, 68, began indecently assaulting the child from the age of six and then began raping her from the age of 10, Newcastle Crown Court heard. Now, two decades on and after finding out that the woman had tried to kill herself, he decided to confess. On January 2 this year he walked up to a police car in Amble, Northumberland, and told officers: ‘I want to confess to child abuse 20 years ago.’ He admitted to between 100 and 200 rapes and a series of indecent assaults. Pearce, of North Broomhill, Northumberland, was a respected member of the community and worked at Acklington Prison in Northumberland during his career. In a statement setting out the effect of the abuse, the victim, now an adult, said: ‘This has affected my whole life. ‘I have had this secret for my whole life and I’m not able to have a proper relationship with a man.’ Pearce hung his head as he listened to the case outlined against him in court. As well as the abuse he also made her watch pornography. After speaking to the victim on New Year’s Day and finding out she had taken an overdose, Pearce decided it was time to confess. He told his wife then went out looking for a policeman to hand himself in. Amanda Ripon, prosecuting, said: ‘He found a police car going about its business in the street in Amble, near where he lived. ‘He said, “I want to confess to child abuse 20 years ago” and said he had raped her. ‘He accepted he must have raped her 100 to 200 times over about five or six years. He couldn’t explain his actions but said he needed to confess to make sure she got closure.’ Jailing him for 12 years, Judge Esmond Faulks said that as a former prison officer, Pearce’s time inside would be particularly onerous. The judge said: ‘As an ex-prison officer going to prison will make life difficult for you.’ As well as the jail term, Pearce was ordered to sign the sex offender register for life and was made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order. Julie Clemitson, defending, said: ‘He made an extraordinarily unusual step in removing the need for the victim to report what happened, by approaching the police himself. ‘This is something the court will not often see. ‘He is very remorseful, he has lost all that he had. He had a long respectable working life and now his family have disowned him.’