February 2017 Man jailed for 16 years for child sexual offences A Devon man resident has been convicted of a string of sexual offences against multiple young children and sent to prison for 16 years. Tiverton man Owen Hill, 54, has been on trial at Exeter Crown Court and was today found guilty of 13 counts on offences ranging from indecent assault to rape of a child, on both boys and girls, during the late 1970s and early 1980s in North Devon. The court heard how Hill coerced his victims by threatening them with violence, and also by repeatedly lying to them. Offering them chocolate and sweets before leading them to isolated locations where horrific sexual abuse would then take place.