PAUL RIDGWAY SENTENCED IN DEVON FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT ON 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL AT HOLIDAY PARK

In October 2017, a court heard that Paul Ridgway, a former local government officer from Stone, Staffordshire, committed a sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl at a holiday park in Dawlish, Devon. The incident occurred at the Welcome Holiday Park during a family holiday in July 2015.

The court was told that Ridgway, aged 44, sexually assaulted the young girl—whose identity remains protected by law—by grabbing her hand and placing it on his erect penis while they sat together in an indoor Jacuzzi with her two sisters. A judge described the girl as a "complete stranger" to Ridgway. The court heard that Ridgway, who was with his partner and 14-year-old son at the time, claimed he was in the Jacuzzi to treat sunburn and insisted there was no physical contact with the girl.

Video footage from CCTV in the indoor pool complex captured part of the incident. The images showed Ridgway, standing approximately 6'2", sitting next to the girl, who later moved away, waved her hand, and exited the pool. The victim later reported that Ridgway had followed her into a changing area and attempted to look under her cubicle door.

The court was told that Ridgway's genitals were visible through his bathing trunks at the time of the assault. He was arrested after the girl told her mother, 'the man made me put my hand on his winkie.'

Ridgway denied the sexual assault charge, but after a four-day trial, he was found guilty. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Recorder Mr. Richard Stead, who also ordered him to register as a sex offender for ten years and imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order restricting his contact with children and enabling police to monitor his internet use.

In sentencing, the judge stated, "You have been found guilty of the sexual assault of a girl of 10 who was a complete stranger to you at a family holiday park. You were sat in a Jacuzzi when you grabbed her hand and put it onto your naked penis. She pulled her hand away after less than seven seconds and shortly after, she left the Jacuzzi and went to get changed. You followed her and tried to look under the cubicle wall while she was changing."

The judge acknowledged the victim's bravery in giving evidence and criticized Ridgway for showing no remorse or acknowledgment of his actions, stating, "Your plea of not guilty meant she had to relive everything, two years after the event. You were found guilty on the clearest evidence. You have shown no remorse and made no acknowledgement of what you did. You have no recognition of the problem you have and the risk you pose to children."

Prosecutor Bathsheba Cassel mentioned that the girl's mother submitted a victim impact statement, noting that the girl had recovered well from the incident but was very upset about giving evidence in court.