April 2014 Man jailed for 18 years for sex offences including rape against young girls A former Kidderminster man has been jailed for a total of 18 years after being convicted of sex offences against young girls more than 20 years ago. Martin Clee, 49, of no fixed address, was found guilty of seven counts of rape and three of indecent assault against females under 16 after a trial at Hereford Crown Court in February. He showed no emotion when he was sentenced by Judge Toby Hooper QC at Worcester Crown Court and ordered to sign the sex offender register for life. Clee raped the main victim, who was known to him, over a sustained period, and the majority of the offences related to her. However one charge of indecent assault related to a friend of hers. Judge Hooper said the offences had been committed between 1989 and 1997 when one girl had been repeatedly raped. A victim impact statement showed that the rest of her life had been affected by her experiences. He imposed a 17-year sentence. Her friend, who was also a teenage girl, had been indecently assaulted and he imposed a one-year consecutive sentence. Prosecutor James Dunstan said the rape victim’s ordeal had led to problems and she had been unable to have any happiness in her life. Martin Butterworth , for Clee, said he continued to receive support from his wife’s family. Clee had no previous convictions but the jury’s verdicts were “nothing more than he deserves.” Detective Iain Standing of West Mercia Police said: “The victim kept silent about the abuse until 2010 as she feared no one would believe her. It took her a long time to pluck up the courage to come forwards but we hope the lengthy jail sentence imposed by the court will enable her to start rebuilding her life.” The victim’s personal statement, which was read out to the court, said she had kept the abuse to herself for many years. She said: “I would not want anyone else to go through what I suffered. Martin Clee denied me the opportunity to lead a normal childhood and this in turn has caused me a lot of problems in my adult life. “I can only dream about how my life might have turned out if I had never met Martin Clee. I can never get back the teenage years that were so painful for me because of him. “I am so relieved he has been convicted and I know he cannot pose a threat to any other children.”