WIRRAL CARE HOME DEPUTY HEAD SENTENCED FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN
A former deputy manager at a care facility in Wirral has received a 14-year prison sentence after being convicted of multiple sexual offenses involving minors.The three-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court revealed that Richard Keith Sutton assaulted a teenage girl when she was 19, at an apartment in Birkenhead that he helped her move into after she was placed under local authority care.
The girl became pregnant by Sutton, who was a father of three, and he continued abusing her sexually.
A jury composed of seven men and five women unanimously found Sutton guilty of three rapes and six indecent assaults on the girl, along with ten charges of indecency against a 15-year-old boy and eight against a 14-year-old.
He was also convicted of buggery and three counts of assault against a 16-year-old boy, with eleven to one majorities.
Sutton, who is known as Keith, faced a total of 47 charges stretching back over more than ten years to December 1993.
The 58-year-old from Cheapside, Formby, who has no prior convictions, denied all allegations.
Judge Lewis told him that the evidence proved he committed serious sexual offenses against four children under his care, demonstrating no remorse.
The judge criticized Sutton’s breach of trust as a house master, emphasizing the vulnerability of the children, many of whom came from troubled backgrounds.
Sutton was remanded to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.
The court was informed that Sutton had worked at various children’s homes on Merseyside from July 1976 to March 1990, before being suspended from his position at a Merseyside home following his arrest in 1999 as part of Merseyside Police’s Operation Care.
Throughout his career, instead of ensuring safety, Sutton exploited his position to sexually abuse vulnerable adolescents for his own gratification.
