May 2012 Kenilworth paedophile is jailed for almost ten years A KENILWORTH man who had raped one young girl and indecently assaulted two others was brought to justice after one of his victims confided in a teacher after an RE lesson on forgiveness. Colin Tapp, who was living in Warwick at the time of some of his offences, had originally denied all the charges against him. But just days before his trial at Warwick Crown Court earlier this year he pleaded guilty to three charges of indecently assaulting two girls aged about nine in the 1990s. Tapp, 52, of Guy Road, Kenilworth, also admitted two more recent charges of raping another girl of a similar age. And following an adjournment for a pre-sentence report to be prepared on him Tapp was jailed for nine-and-a-half years, ordered to register as a sex offender for life and was banning from ever being in the unsupervised company of any child. Judge Marten Coates ordered that after his release Tapp should remain on licence for an extended period until November 2026 – during which he can be recalled to prison if his behaviour gives cause for concern. Prosecutor Matthew Brook said the offences in the 90s involved two friends, one of whom lived near Tapp at the time, who were then aged about nine. When one of the girls was visiting his home Tapp roughly rubbed her breasts with his hand. On another occasion when he saw her, in an act which would now be classed as rape but was defined as indecent assault at the time, he penetrated her mouth. The girl later told her mother she no longer wanted to go to Tapp’s home because he had been touching her, but did not go into detail and no complaint was made at the time. Mr Brook said Tapp had committed a similar act of oral penetration with a friend of that girl. About ten years later Tapp carried out two attacks on another young girl who lived in the same area as him by raping her on the first occasion and orally raping her at a later date. That girl did not say anything at the time, but after a school RE lesson about forgiveness she confided in a teacher. The police were notified, and an investigation led to Tapp’s two earlier victims. But when he was arrested Tapp, who Mr Brook pointed out had been given a police caution in 1995 for indecently assaulting two 14-year-old girls, denied all the offences. John Edwards, defending, said: “He was until today his 91-year-old mother’s full-time carer. The judge on the last occasion, as an act of kindness after he entered his guilty pleas, gave him bail to sort that matter out. He has done so, and his older brother is giving up his work to care for their mother.” Jailing Tapp, Judge Coates said: “Most people, it might be thought, would have learned their lesson when they were cautioned for indecent behaviour towards young children but you did not.”