JOHN SAUNDERS SENTENCED IN NEWCASTLE FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST SCHOOLGIRLS
Police have expressed their support for the prison sentence given to former prison officer John Saunders, who was convicted of sexually abusing two schoolgirls after a lengthy investigation.Saunders, of Liverpool Road, Cross Heath, Newcastle, first indecently assaulted a young girl in the mid-1990s.
Despite the victim reporting the abuse at the time, he was not prosecuted then.
The abuse resurfaced when he attacked another schoolgirl in 2018.
When she reported the incident in 2019, authorities reopened the case related to the earlier assault.
Saunders faced charges of two counts of indecent assault and one charge of assaulting a child under 13 by penetration.
In October, a jury convicted him on all three counts.
The 68-year-old was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court last week to 13 years in prison, with an extended two-year license period.
Welcoming the sentence, DC Gary Cliffe of Staffordshire Police stated, "I am delighted with the sentence handed to Saunders and we hope this sentence is a reminder that we will continue to do whatever it takes to bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice no matter how long ago these attacks took place." Saunders is required to serve half of his custodial sentence—six-and-a-half years—before he becomes eligible for parole.
Following his release, he will remain on license and serve the remaining part of his 15-year sentence.
Additionally, he has been placed on the sex offenders' register for life.
