CHESTERFIELD PAEDOPHILE STEPHEN BOWER RECEIVES REDUCED SENTENCE

In March 2015, a Chesterfield-based paedophile, Stephen Bower, aged 56, successfully appealed his prison sentence, leading to a reduction from 26 years to 22 years. Bower had originally been sentenced in July 2014 for a series of serious sexual offenses, including indecent assault, indecency with a child, and five counts of rape. His crimes spanned several decades, beginning in the 1970s, and involved the repeated abuse of two boys and two girls.

The case was brought to light when one victim used her mobile phone to record Bower admitting to his offenses. During the sentencing at Derby Crown Court, the judge acknowledged the victims’ heartbreaking ordeal, stating, “I hope you can put your lives back together again,” and emphasizing, “No one could fail to be moved by the suffering they have had to endure for years.” Despite this, Bower challenged his sentence at London's Appeal Court, claiming to have no memory of the crimes. His barrister, Rachel Harrison, acknowledged the severity of his offending but successfully argued for three of his indecency convictions to be overturned due to mis-drafting of the charges. As a result, his sentence was reduced to 22 years.

Prior to this, in July 2014, Bower was jailed for 26 years after a different conviction. Victims recorded their encounters with him, with one attacker capturing his confession on her phone. Bower, formerly of Westwick Gardens in Lincoln and more recently of Spring Bank Road, Chesterfield, had been involved in raping three children over a 23-year period.

He had previously avoided conviction in 1997 when police briefly detained him, but due to a victim withdrawing her allegations at the time, no charges led to conviction. It was only last year that he was detained and charged again, after another victim’s mobile phone recorded him admitting to his crimes, which dated back to the 1970s. Prosecutor Avik Mukherjee explained, “She recorded a conversation during which he admitted that he had abused her. The recording was effectively third-party independent evidence.”

At sentencing, Recorder Stephen Linehan QC described the case as “heartbreaking” and expressed hope for the victims’ recovery. Bower was told he would be eligible for parole only after turning 68. The court heard that Bower had begun abusing one victim but later raped two others, becoming more confident that he would not face justice. His victims described the lasting impact, with one saying, “He completely ruined my childhood. I find it very difficult to sleep at night. I silently battle depression and have nightmares.”

Bower initially denied the allegations, claiming no memory of the offenses and suggesting they were malicious, stating, “the victims had many reasons to hate him.” His criminal record includes violence and robbery, with convictions for violent assault, wounding, and robbery in 1977, and for blackmail and burglary in 1986. Consequently, Bower has been placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life, banned from entering within 60 meters of children’s play parks, and is prohibited from having unsupervised contact with anyone under 16. Upon release, he is also required to cooperate with police for ongoing risk assessments.