November 2020 ‘Dangerous’ paedophile jailed 16 years after victims bravely come forward A ‘dangerous’ paedophile who abused four girls has been jailed for 16 years. James Paffey will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life following his conviction, which came after one of his victims bravely came forward to police in September last year. The now 38-year-old was arrested and charged with three offences three days after she came forward – with three further girls later reporting they had too been sexually assaulted by him. Paffey, of The Haven in Harwich, was charged with eight counts of rape, nine counts of sexual assault, six counts of assault by penetration, two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. He denied all charges and stood trial on October 26 – with a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court finding him guilty on Thursday, November 12 The following day, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison and given a four year extended licence. He will have to serve at least two-thirds of his sentence in jail before being eligible to request parole. In a statement to the court, a guardian of one of the victims said the childhood innocence of all four girls has been taken away by his actions. The statement read: “My sadness for all the girls is around how they have lost their chance at a normal childhood because of what he has done. “The innocence of childhood has been taken away from them by his actions and can never be recovered. They have not had the opportunity to grow up like regular children.”