SAMUEL COLE SENTENCED IN SWINDON FOR MULTIPLE CHILD SEX OFFENSES

In September 2012, Samuel Cole, a teenager at the time of the offences, was sentenced to five years in prison for repeatedly abusing a 10-year-old boy. Cole, who was approximately 15 or 16 when the crimes occurred, also persuaded a six-year-old boy to engage in inappropriate sexual contact after accompanying him to see a 'magic tree' while out fishing. Although Cole denied the allegations involving the younger boy, a jury at Swindon Crown Court found him guilty last month after a trial.

Prosecutor Colin Meeke stated that the more severe offences took place between late 2005 and the end of 2007 in the Goatacre area, when the victim was aged between nine and 11. Mr. Meeke described the situation: "When he was about 10 years of age, he fell under this young man’s malign eye. He was sexually abused too, but in ways infinitely more serious." In a victim impact statement, the schoolboy said, "Samuel Cole ruined my childhood. What he did to me will affect me for my entire life."

Cole, formerly residing at Harts Close, Goatacre, and now living at Goldsworthy Close, Swindon, admitted to three counts of rape and one of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He denied causing or inciting the six-year-old to engage in sexual activity, but was convicted following the trial.

Defence solicitor Chris Oswald explained that Cole had learning difficulties and that, despite being older in years, his mental capacity was comparable to that of a child at the time of the offences. Oswald said, "as well as being chronologically older, he was operating at a level below his years and was himself a child, possibly as young as 15, during the commission of these rapes."

Judge Douglas Field sentenced Cole to five years in prison. The judge also ordered Cole to register as a sex offender for life, prohibited him from working with children, and issued a sexual offences prevention order for ten years, limiting his freedoms after release.

In a related case from August 2012, a jury at Swindon Crown Court convicted Samuel Cole, aged 21 and from Goatacre, of causing or inciting a six-year-old boy to behave indecently while out fishing. Cole admitted to causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity following a brief trial. The child recounted that in 2007, when Cole was 16, he had gone fishing with the boy and another youth when Cole suggested she show him a 'magic tree'. This incident happened out of sight of others, with the boy clarifying that Cole neither touched him nor asked to be touched.

Cole previously admitted to raping another boy repeatedly when the victim was aged nine to eleven. He faced sentencing scheduled for September, with several psychiatric assessments completed. Cole pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and one of causing or inciting a child under thirteen to engage in sexual activity. The case was adjourned until September 7 by Judge Douglas Field, who also imposed bail conditions requiring Cole to avoid unsupervised contact with children under 18, stay away from Goatacre, and reside at Goldsworthy Close, Swindon.