GEORGE BATES SENTENCED TO 11 YEARS FOR HORRIFIC ABUSE IN BRADFORD AND WALLSEND

The family of a teenage girl from Bradford, who endured a series of heinous sexual assaults by the convicted paedophile George Bates, have expressed their outrage over the initial sentencing and called for a life sentence. Bates, aged 48 and a married father of two, was found guilty of committing a disturbing array of 15 sex offences against the young girl, with the abuse spanning several years and involving multiple heinous acts.

During the proceedings at Bradford Crown Court in February, the court detailed the horrifying extent of Bates's crimes, which included four counts of rape, a serious sexual assault, three threats to kill, two offences of indecency with a child, gross indecency, two indecent assaults, and a physical assault. The gravity of these offences prompted widespread condemnation, especially from the victim’s family, who believed that the punishment was insufficient.

Initially, Bates was sentenced to seven years in prison. However, this sentence was met with strong disapproval from the victim’s relatives, who argued that such a lenient punishment did not reflect the severity of his crimes. They openly condemned the sentence as being too light and expressed their hope that Bates would face a harsher penalty.

In a significant development, the Court of Appeal reviewed the case and, yesterday, increased Bates’s sentence from seven to eleven years. The decision came after an application by the Attorney General, John Morris QC, who argued that the original sentence was unduly lenient given the nature of the offences. The three judges presiding—Mr Justice Douglas Brown, Lord Justice Rose, and Mr Justice Potts—agreed that the punishment should be more severe.

Mr Justice Douglas Brown emphasized the profound impact of Bates’s actions on the victim, noting that she had been subjected to ongoing trauma, which had led her to be admitted to psychiatric hospitals multiple times. The judge described the original sentence as “unduly lenient in a particularly bad case,” underscoring the seriousness of the crimes and their lasting effects.

It was also revealed that Bates, who had moved from Bradford to Wallsend in Newcastle-upon-Tyne six years prior, had accumulated a total of nearly 60 years’ worth of sentences for his various offences. However, due to the court’s decision to run these sentences concurrently, he was initially given a relatively short term of seven years. The Court of Appeal’s decision to increase the sentence reflects a recognition of the gravity of his crimes and the need for appropriate punishment.

A spokesperson for the Eccleshill Child Protection team, which conducted the investigation, expressed satisfaction with the outcome. They highlighted the initial shock of police officers involved in the case at the time of sentencing and welcomed the Court of Appeal’s decision, stating, “We are very pleased that the Court of Appeal has agreed with us and the Crown Prosecution Service that the offences committed deserve a higher sentence.”

As the case concludes with this increased sentence, the victim’s family and the community continue to grapple with the trauma inflicted by George Bates’s actions, hoping that justice has been finally served and that such heinous crimes are met with appropriate punishment.