86-year-old Warrington man jailed for child sexual offences

86-YEAR-OLD WARRINGTON MAN JAILED FOR CHILD SEXUAL OFFENCES

A paedophile has been jailed for non-recent sexual offences, including oral rape, against a child in Somerset.

Michael Eckersley, 86 and of Coldstream Close in Warrington, was jailed on Tuesday, November 4, for offences committed against a child.

He was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court after he was found unanimously guilty of 14 offences following his trial which ended on September 4.

The offences started in the 1980s and spanned several years.

Avon and Somerset Police said: "He was sentenced to a nine-year custodial term for the lead offence of indecent assault (oral rape) against a child, and a further five years for seven other charges of indecent assault against a child.

He will serve an additional two years in prison for six counts of indecency with a child." The court heard how Eckersley's abuse came to light when the victim reported the offences to another force before the case was handed to Avon and Somerset Police in 2021.

Eckersley was voluntarily interviewed on December 3, 2021.

A statement from the victim was read out in court by prosecutor Virginia Cornwall, which said: "Eckersley gave me presents and gifts, however, this all came at a sickening price – sexual favours.

“For six years, the abuse broke me.

I had no one to confide in, so I carried the burden silently.

I became withdrawn, occasionally self-harming, unable to understand the psychological damage that was being done to me.

“I am angry, heartbroken, and finally letting out tears that I have held inside for years.

As a child, I was happy and adventurous, despite a rough start.

“The last four years have brought it all back and I have had to go through it all over as it still feels like it happened yesterday.

“I am angry for the boy I was and for the life I could have had.”