GREG DAVIS OF CANVEY SENTENCED FOR ABUSE OF EIGHT-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN BASILDON

In April 2007, Greg Davis, 21, from Brindles, Canvey, was sentenced to a year in prison after abusing an eight-year-old girl. Davis, who was 17 at the time, had repeatedly subjected the young victim, now aged 11, to indecent acts within her home. Judge Philip Clegg presided over the case at Basildon Crown Court and noted that Davis had targeted the girl by befriending her, using her vulnerability to carry out the abuse.

Judge Clegg stated, "Your motive of befriending her was so you could sexually abuse her. You knew you could count on her silence because of the trust she had in you as a friend. You told her not to tell anyone, and she didn’t want to get you in trouble. Only when she had the courage to tell her parents two years later was this matter brought to justice."

Davis was convicted on March 9 of two counts of indecent assault. During mitigation, Nicola May highlighted Davis's status as a loner with mental health issues and requested that he undergo a rehabilitation program instead of jail. She mentioned that, according to the victim’s father, the girl had not yet suffered lasting psychological harm and suggested that supportive measures might be more appropriate.

Nonetheless, Judge Clegg emphasized the girl's extreme vulnerability and stated, "I do not have any other choice but to imprison you." He also expressed concern over Davis’s recent relationship with a 15-year-old girl.

Davis received a 12-month jail sentence, plus a two-year extended license upon release. He is required to register as a sex offender for ten years, adhere to a sexual offenders prevention order—which restricts contact with children under 16, living arrangements involving children without parental consent, and cooperation with police monitoring officers for a decade.