HAROLD SIMMONS FROM PRESTON JAILED FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST YOUNG GIRL IN THE 1990S
In October 2015, Harold Simmons, an 80-year-old resident of Dawnay Road, Ribbleton, Preston, was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of multiple historic sexual assault charges involving a young girl during the 1990s.Simmons had initially denied the allegations, which involved offences committed against a girl aged between six and nine years old.
However, he later pleaded guilty to eight counts of indecent assault, acknowledging his guilt in court.
The charges spanned from 1999 to 2003 and all related to the same victim.
During the sentencing hearing at Preston Crown Court, Judge Pamela Badley expressed her strong disapproval of Simmons' actions.
She stated, “The sexual offences that you have accepted relate to a very little girl, she was aged six when you started touching her.
She was not to know what was right and wrong, because you were the adult.
There is undoubtedly a heavy blame that attaches to you, Harold Simmons.
You would tickle her tummy then touch her sexually.
This was disgusting sexual behaviour towards a young child.” Simmons, who was seen walking with the aid of a stick and needed to hold onto the wall of the dock to sit down, appeared visibly frail during the proceedings.
Prosecutor Paul Cummings detailed the timeline of the offences, stating, “The charges date from 1999 to 2003 and all of those counts relate to the same person.
These are specimen charges.
The woman made a complaint to police in July 2014, and a full interview was conducted.
She was visibly upset when recounting what had happened to her.
It’s clear this was a very distressing time for the young girl, and she had carried this burden until she was able to report it.” Defense lawyer Gerald Doran acknowledged Simmons’ guilt, saying, “He accepts he’s guilty and accepts he will be sentenced on the basis of that and no longer stands by what he previously said.
It’s right it ought to be acknowledged he has avoided a trial and the necessity for his victim to give evidence.
He’s now 80.
He has no previous convictions.
Your honour might have detected he is in poor health.
He was anxious; you saw some evidence of that.
He has lost all contact with his family bar his niece.” The court’s decision reflects the serious nature of the offences committed by Harold Simmons, a Preston resident, against a vulnerable young girl in the 1990s, and underscores the justice served in holding him accountable for his actions.
