May 2013 Paedophile jailed after attacking young girls A paedophile who sexually abused two young girls has been jailed for 21 years. Frank Stott, 44, attacked two girls, one 12 and one eight years old. But he has been put behind bars after being found guilty of a string of rape and sexual assault charges. Stott, formerly of Tweed Avenue, Ellington, Northumberland, was arrested last April on suspicion of raping and sexually assaulting a girl from the age of 12, between June 2005 and June 2008. Detectives also discovered that Stott had assaulted an eight-year-old girl between January 2011 and April 2012. In December, he admitted four offences of making indecent images of children and one offence of possessing an indecent image of a child. Stott, who served with the Coldstream Guards, trained with the SAS and saw active service in Iraq during an army career spanning more than 20 years. At the time of his arrest last year, the 44-year-old was a range instructor at Defence Training Estate Otterburn, where he took one of his victims for sex, the jury heard. Following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court this month, Stott was also convicted of six counts of sexual activity with a child under 16 between June 2005 and June 2008, and 10 counts of rape of a child under 13 years between January 2011 and April 2012. He was also convicted of one attempted rape of a child under 13 years, two counts of assault of a child under 13, and one offence of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity. DC Gaynor Gould from Northumbria Police’s Rape Investigation Team said: “I would like to pay tribute to the two young victims whose courage and strength has helped to bring this dangerous man to justice. “This has been a very difficult time for the two victims and their families and I hope that the sentence imposed today will help them to move on positively with their lives. “Rape is a hugely traumatic experience and I want people to know that help is always available.” Superintendent Gillian Mitchell said: “We welcome the sentences. I want to reassure the community that the Rape Investigation Team together with our neighbourhood teams work closely with partners to help prevent these sorts of crimes and support any victims of sexual abuse.”