MAN JAILED FOR SEX OFFENCES INVOLVING VICTIMS OVER 32 YEARS
Law enforcement officials have commended two women who were victims of child abuse for their crucial role in securing the conviction of a Dover dog warden identified as a dangerous sex offender.Philip Lawrence, aged 64, admitted to charges of indecent assault and acts of public indecency related to incidents that took place during the 1990s in Dover and Folkestone.
The resident of Cecil Park in Herne Bay was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of sex crimes involving two teenage girls at Canterbury Crown Court on June 15.
The courtroom erupted with shouts of “nonce” as the sentence was announced, and the victims, who attended the hearing, were visibly upset and crying.
The two women came forward to police after reading a news story about Lawrence, including his photograph, coinciding with his 2015 conviction for similar crimes.
This tip-off prompted an official investigation, leading to Lawrence’s arrest and subsequent imprisonment.
In 2016, Lawrence was sentenced to a term of 42 months following convictions for sexual offenses against three other girls dating back to 1980.
Prosecutor Dominic Connolly explained that the initial offence occurred around 1992 or 1993, when Lawrence was employed as a dog warden in Dover.
He was seen performing a sexual act while parked in his van, with the victim fleeing to her grandmother’s house afterwards.
A second incident involved Lawrence in 1995 or 1996, when he was in a remote location with a teenage girl in his van.
He forced her to touch him, further establishing a pattern of offending over several years.
John Fitzgerald, defending, insisted that Lawrence had shown genuine remorse for his behaviour and come to understand it by attending a sex offender programme in Canterbury.
"This is someone who has a problem and who is addressing it," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"He is sorry for what he did.
The defendant was himself a victim of sexual abuse as a boy.
"There is a common feature where a victim goes on to become a perpetrator.
It's not an excuse, but it's an explanation." But jailing him, Recorder Jonathan Davies said: "There is no doubt that you are a paedophile and a danger to children.
"Each victim has been seriously affected by what you did to them.
It's as painful to them now as it was when you did it.
"I have come to the conclusion that only an immediate custodial sentence is justified." In addition to the prison sentence, Lawrence was made subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
