GUILDFORD JOHN SMITH RECEIVES LIGHT SENTENCE FOR PREADATORIAL OFFENSES TO SAVE PRISON COSTS
| Red Rose Database
Guildford Rapist
In February 2008, a court case in Guildford drew attention to the sentencing of John Smith, a 74-year-old man convicted of multiple sexual offenses against young girls. The judge, Michael Addison, handed Smith a notably reduced prison term, citing concerns over the burden on the prison system "to cause the prison service who will be looking after you" and Smith's age and health as reasons for the leniency.
Smith, who is now in an electronic wheelchair, was found guilty of abusing three generations of schoolgirls over several decades. These included a prolonged campaign of molestation against his first victim, as well as subsequent assaults on her daughter, whom he raped when she was just nine.
Prosecutor Alexia Durran told the jury that Smith "abused his position of trust in a prolonged and calculated way". The first victim was systematically abused from age seven to 14 during the 1970s, including an attack in a workman's hut. She explained that it took some time for her to disclose what happened, finally revealing it to a friend in the summer of 2005.
Another girl, also aged seven when she was targeted, was initially touched inappropriately while playing with a friend, then assaulted more seriously between 1981 and 1985; she did not report the abuse at the time. The case took a darker turn when the victim's own child encountered further abuse. When the girl was about nine, Smith raped her, and the incident remained secret until the girl confided in her mother in November 2005.
The mother promptly reported the matter to the police, leading to Smith's arrest in 2006. He was accused of rape and sexual acts committed between February and December 2000 on the victim. Smith denied the allegations, claiming innocence, but police considered the victims' accounts consistent and credible, emphasizing the pattern of long-standing abuse.
Smith was eventually convicted on 13 counts, including the rape of a child under 13, seven counts of indecent assault, and four counts of indecency with a child. His defense argued that due to poor physical and mental health, imprisonment would be especially difficult for him. However, Judge Addison explained, "This was a deliberate course of conduct over many years and caused great distress to those girls."
Despite his guilty plea, the judge stated, "You contested the case and accused each of them of telling lies, and I therefore cannot give you any credit for a plea of guilty." He emphasized the seriousness of the offenses and the importance of discouraging such conduct, declaring that only a custodial sentence was appropriate. Smith will also be registered as a sex offender indefinitely and disqualified from working with children.
It was also revealed that Smith had a prior conviction from 1954 for indecent assaulting a five-year-old girl, for which he received only a £20 fine.
Smith, who is now in an electronic wheelchair, was found guilty of abusing three generations of schoolgirls over several decades. These included a prolonged campaign of molestation against his first victim, as well as subsequent assaults on her daughter, whom he raped when she was just nine.
Prosecutor Alexia Durran told the jury that Smith "abused his position of trust in a prolonged and calculated way". The first victim was systematically abused from age seven to 14 during the 1970s, including an attack in a workman's hut. She explained that it took some time for her to disclose what happened, finally revealing it to a friend in the summer of 2005.
Another girl, also aged seven when she was targeted, was initially touched inappropriately while playing with a friend, then assaulted more seriously between 1981 and 1985; she did not report the abuse at the time. The case took a darker turn when the victim's own child encountered further abuse. When the girl was about nine, Smith raped her, and the incident remained secret until the girl confided in her mother in November 2005.
The mother promptly reported the matter to the police, leading to Smith's arrest in 2006. He was accused of rape and sexual acts committed between February and December 2000 on the victim. Smith denied the allegations, claiming innocence, but police considered the victims' accounts consistent and credible, emphasizing the pattern of long-standing abuse.
Smith was eventually convicted on 13 counts, including the rape of a child under 13, seven counts of indecent assault, and four counts of indecency with a child. His defense argued that due to poor physical and mental health, imprisonment would be especially difficult for him. However, Judge Addison explained, "This was a deliberate course of conduct over many years and caused great distress to those girls."
Despite his guilty plea, the judge stated, "You contested the case and accused each of them of telling lies, and I therefore cannot give you any credit for a plea of guilty." He emphasized the seriousness of the offenses and the importance of discouraging such conduct, declaring that only a custodial sentence was appropriate. Smith will also be registered as a sex offender indefinitely and disqualified from working with children.
It was also revealed that Smith had a prior conviction from 1954 for indecent assaulting a five-year-old girl, for which he received only a £20 fine.