October 2009 Guilty paedophile jailed for 10 years A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed for 10 years for a series of horrific sex assaults on a child aged under 13. Ian Kendra, 40, groomed a vulnerable girl over nine months and then tried to put the blame on her accusing her of fantasy. Kendra, formerly of Pocklington, was jailed after a five-day trial at Hull Crown Court. He denied six charges of rape and four charges of sexual activity with a child under 13 between June 30 2007 and March 26 2008. A jury took less than three hours to find him guilty of the charges. He was cleared of two charges of rape on the order of the judge. Judge Simon Jack said: “You have been found guilty of sexual abuse over a substantial period of time. She was a vulnerable child. You took advantage of her need for love and you preyed on that. These are very serious matters. The starting point is eight years.” He said the aggravating features were so serious he should be jailed for a total of 10 years but would be eligible for release after five. Kendra was charged with specimen offences and the girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said he began offending with a kissing incident on her lips and he told her he loved her. She started crying but the incident was not reported to the police. The court heard the girl was then indecently assaulted as she played on a computer game. She told the jury: “It made me feel horrible. I didn’t do anything about it because I was confused. I didn’t think it could be happening again.” The girl told the jury she thought she would not be believed. Matters came to light after the assaults escalated into rapes and Kendra was arrested but denied all involvement and showed no remorse. He was caught when police found DNA proof on a bedspread which substantiated the girl’s evidence of one of the attacks. The court was told his victim was driven to self harm and began drinking after she was repeatedly attacked. Dressed in a leather jacket, shirt and tie, Kendra stood stone-faced staring at the jury as 10 verdicts were read out. The judge ordered Kendra to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life. He was also made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order which includes a list of bans restricting his activity with children under 16.