October 2014 Man jailed for raping 11-year-old girl in Croydon A 26-year-old man has been jailed for more than eight years after raping an 11-year-old girl in Croydon he had befriended as she went to visit a relative. James Albert Bodenham was identified and arrested after he was recognised in CCTV footage by a local officer who happened to have stopped him a few weeks before the offence took place on March 1 this year. A spokesman for the Met said they were contacted by the girl’s parents when she was late returning home after visiting a relative. The girl returned home soon after, but was in a distressed state. The spokesman said: “Following delicate enquiries carried out by officers, they managed to find out that she had been sexually assaulted in the Addiscombe area by a man she had met and befriended only that day. “A full investigation was carried out by officers from the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command and detectives soon identified CCTV footage from the area showing a man who matched the description given by the girl.” Images of the man were circulated to officers in Croydon and PC Garcia recognised him as James Bodenham, as he had stopped him while riding a bike in the area a few weeks beforehand. He was arrested at his home in St Luke’s Close, South Norwood, with officers seizing clothing that matched the description given to them by the victim, comparing DNA with samples taken from the victim. The 26-year-old was charged on March 19 with two counts of rape, with Bodenham eventually pleading guilty to one count of rape, with the other to lay on file. Today he was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court to eight years and six months imprisonment, and was also given a sexual offenders prevention order (SOPO). Detective Constable David Bendall, from the Sexual Offences Exploitation & Child Abuse Command, said: “Bodenham targeted an extremely young and vulnerable girl, who will have to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of her life. “The victim and her family have shown tremendous strength and courage throughout the entire investigation. “I hope that by bringing Bodenham to justice will in some way help them to move on from this terrible ordeal.”