June 2021 Paedophile in clifftop standoff with police after his abuse of young girl was revealed A paedophile that subjected a young girl to repeated abuse to satisfy his own “selfish sexual pleasure” threatened to jump off a cliff Colin Sharpe began abusing the child when she was aged under 13 and continued his depraved behaviour for a number of years. When the offending was reported to police and officers launched a search for Sharpe they tracked him down him to a Pembrokeshire clifftop where a standoff developed. Swansea Crown Court heard 40-year-old Sharpe subjected his victim to repeated serious sexual abuse “whenever the opportunity arose”. Ian Wright, prosecuting, said the offended started when the girl was aged under 13 and continued for the next three to four years. The abuse came to light in March this year when the girl confided in her mother about what had been going on, naming the defendant and telling her mum he had been “touching me”. The court heard the matter was reported to police and officers began a search for the defendant. He was found in his vehicle in a car park at St Ann’s Head at the mouth of Milford Haven. Mr Wright said police used their car to block Sharpe’s exist from the car park but he “sped off” across the grass towards the cliff edge before crashing into a fence. The defendant abandoned his vehicle and made off on foot to the clifftop. A standoff then developed during which police brought in a specialist negotiator to talk him down. After a lengthy negotiation Sharpe was arrested. Sharpe, of Howarth Close, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, admitted six sexual offences involving a child. He has no previous convictions. In an impact statement which was read to the court the girl he abused said she had nightmares about what he had done to her where Sharpe would come after her, threaten her, and pin her down. Judge Paul Thomas QC told Sharpe that over a period of many years he had used the young girl “for your own selfish sexual pleasure” without having any regard to the impact on her. Following the guidelines and giving the defendant the required one-third discount for his guilty pleas the judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Sharpe will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and was also made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order to control his access to girls.