PAUL ALBANSE AND PORTSMOUTH: SEX OFFENDER SENTENCED FOR ABUSE OF UNDERAGE GIRL

In June 2014, a 66-year-old man named Paul Albansen was convicted of sexually assaulting an underage girl and was subsequently sentenced to four years in prison. The court heard that Albansen deliberately and cynically exploited his young victim, who was unable to speak out for over two decades due to trauma.

During the trial at Portsmouth Crown Court, it was revealed that Albansen assaulted the girl at his home. At one point, he told her, ‘I could rape you if I wanted to. No-one is here, no-one will know,’ demonstrating a clear intent to intimidate.

Albansen met the victim when she was a teenager, after she stayed with a family friend following problems at her own home—issues for which she was not responsible. At the time, Albansen, age 38, was involved in some form of relationship with the woman with whom she stayed. He is accused of grooming her within just a week of their meeting, then committing indecent assaults. On one occasion, he attacked her at his bedsit.

Judge Sarah Munro QC stated, ‘She must have been absolutely terrified that she was going to be raped. She pleaded with you not to.’ The court also noted that Albansen eventually ceased his assaults.

The judge remarked on the victim’s feelings, saying she ‘felt completely humiliated. She was in an impossible situation as you knew, and she did not tell anyone because of the situation at home, and no doubt because she thought she might not be believed.’

Albansen, who lives on Fraser Road, Southsea, has no relevant prior convictions but suffers from ill health. The court ordered him to sign the sex offenders’ register for ten years, with Judge Munro highlighting, ‘You identified her vulnerability at an early stage and you very deliberately and cynically exploited it.’