STUART CAIRNES FROM HARTLEPOOL SENTENCED FOR LIFE AFTER HORRIFIC CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN MIDDLESBROUGH

In a harrowing case that has shocked the community, Stuart Cairnes, a 43-year-old man from Middlesbrough, was sentenced to life imprisonment following his conviction for the heinous abuse of a nine-year-old girl in Hartlepool. The court heard that Cairnes, who was employed as a van driver, subjected the young girl to repeated acts of sexual violence within a caravan located in Hartlepool, Teesside.

The young victim, who was the daughter of a friend, bravely came forward to police after enduring months of abuse. She recounted to investigators that Cairnes often restrained her by gagging and hooding her, and that he kept her confined in a dark cupboard, effectively using it as a prison. The girl described how Cairnes would tie her to a chair and threaten her to keep silent about the abuse, revealing his disturbing intentions to keep her as his sexual object for years to come.

Prosecutor Rupert Doswell detailed the horrifying nature of the crimes, emphasizing that Cairnes had repeatedly raped the girl and assaulted her by penetration. The court was told that Cairnes’s actions were so severe that they bore chilling similarities to the infamous case of Josef Fritzl, who kept his daughter Elisabeth imprisoned in a cellar for 24 years, during which he committed over 3,000 acts of rape, resulting in the birth of seven children.

At Teesside Crown Court, Cairnes was convicted on three counts of raping a child under 13 and two counts of assault by penetration. Despite the overwhelming evidence, Cairnes continued to deny any wrongdoing, maintaining his innocence even after being found guilty by a jury. The judge, Peter Fox QC, sentenced him to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of ten years before he becomes eligible for parole. Additionally, Cairnes is required to register as a sex offender for life.

The court also highlighted Cairnes’s troubling past, revealing that he had previously been convicted of multiple indecent assaults against two girls and a boy during his late teens. Judge Fox warned Cairnes that he would only be released when he is no longer deemed a danger to children, citing his long history of sexual offenses and describing his actions as deeply perverted and among the most serious cases of child abuse.

Detective Sergeant Steve Bell of Middlesbrough Child Abuse Investigation Unit expressed his condemnation of Cairnes’s actions, stating, “The sentence passed by the court reflects the serious sexual abuse carried out on the victim at the hands of Stuart Cairnes. The victim has been courageous and brave throughout what has been a difficult investigation. Cairnes has now been proven to be a sadistic predatory paedophile that should never have access to children.”

This case has left a lasting impact on the Hartlepool and Middlesbrough communities, highlighting the importance of vigilance and the need to protect vulnerable children from such predatory individuals.