August 2021
Seven years in jail for paedophile who admitted assaulting child A paedophile has been sentenced to more than seven years in jail after sexually assaulting a child. Erik Olson, 47, appeared at Salisbury Crown Court last Tuesday after admitting a string of offences. Olson, of Newport Road, Cowes, admitted two counts of sexually assaulting a child, five counts of sexual activity with a child, and causing a child to watch a sexual act, between January 1, 2019, and June 14, 2020. A charge of making 412 indecent photos of a child was left to lie on the file. He originally denied the offences, but his switch to guilty pleas saw him get a 20 per cent reduction of his sentence, which would have been nine years in custody. Judge Susan Evans said guilty pleas were important and need to be recognised. The victim was spared the ordeal of a trial as a result. Olson, an amputee and wheelchair-user, will serve 86 months, with two thirds of that in custody and the remainder on licence. Robert Griffiths, prosecuting, said Olson told police in interview he hadn’t been near “a young or old lady for a very long time” and had lost control. The victim’s mother said the child would never be free of the emotional baggage, Mr Griffiths told the court. Judge Evans said: “The court knows this sort of abuse is life-changing, the memory of which cannot ever be erased.” He will also be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further notice. It is the County Press policy to publish police photographs of people jailed for more than 12 months, in line with Hampshire Constabulary guidance, but in this instance Hampshire Constabulary were unable to provide one.