DAVID ADAMS FROM WEYMOUTH AND BOVINGTON SENTENCED FOR RAPE IN BOVINGTON PARK

In a case that has shocked the local community, David Adams, a 24-year-old man from Weymouth, was convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl in a play park located in Bovington. The incident took place in February of the previous year, and the court proceedings revealed disturbing details about the assault.

According to the jury at Dorchester Crown Court, Adams followed the young girl into the Bovington play park and aggressively pushed her against a climbing frame before committing the assault. The court heard that Adams, also known by the nickname 'Ernie,' ignored between 20 and 30 pleas from the girl to stop during the attack. The jury was shown a recorded police interview in which the girl recounted her experience, describing how Adams had initially shown some friendliness by kissing her cheek and attempting to hug her during a walk with friends earlier that afternoon.

The girl explained that it was already dark when she arrived at the park, between 8 pm and 8:30 pm, to meet a friend. However, upon her arrival, her friend was not present, and she soon realized that Adams had followed her and confronted her with an angry expression. She recounted her reaction, saying, “I said ‘What are you doing?’ but he didn’t reply and that’s when he pinned me up.” She further described her distress, stating, “I just kept saying ‘Stop, stop, stop,’” and after the assault, she ran into an alleyway to wipe away her tears, feeling too afraid to tell anyone about what had happened.

The girl only disclosed the incident after an argument with a friend and when her sister found out about her emotional state. The prosecution, led by David Bartlett, highlighted that Adams had been residing at an “open house” in Bovington, which had become a known meeting spot in the area. The defense, represented by Mark Ruffell, acknowledged that Adams’s claims of not knowing the girl or being in Bovington that day were “pretty stupid lies,” but Adams chose not to give evidence in his own defense.

Throughout the trial, the absence of eyewitnesses or CCTV footage meant that the case relied heavily on the testimonies of the girl and the police interview. Judge Nigel Seed sentenced Adams to seven years in prison and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register for the rest of his life, emphasizing the severity of the crime and the need for ongoing monitoring of Adams’s conduct in the future.