December 2020 First taste of custody for sex offender at age of 83 A man in his eighties who sexually abused two girls has been jailed for 11 years, despite his age and ailing health. Terence ‘Terry’ Anthony Brown, who is profoundly deaf, was convicted of 20 sexual offences after a week-long trial at Durham Crown Court, earlier this week. The 83-year-old defendant, of Benbow Walk, Coundon, denied ten counts of sexual assault on a child under 13, six of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, and one of indecent assault. But he was convicted on unanimous jury verdicts on all counts on Monday and sentence was adjourned for victim statements to be prepared for the court. One of those statements was made by the mother of one of the victims, who said it has affected many aspects of her daughter’s life, including her school progress. She described it having left her daughter not trusting other people, not wanting to go out or go to school, just preferring to remain at home. An older victim said she feels “quite overwhelmed” and sometimes feels her head is going to “explode”. Her experiences as a child have left her feeling “angry and sad” all of the time, while she suffers anxiety and has nightmares, in some of which her abuser appears. She stated that she felt his conviction should have left her feeling better, but instead she just felt “numb”. Andrew Finlay, for Brown, said his first taste of custody, at his age and with several ailments over and above his deafness, would prove a difficult experience. Jailing Brown, Judge James Adkin said the Court of Appeal urges judges to make only limited adjustments to sentences in such cases to account for the age and health of elderly defendants. “The prison estate provides for the needs of the elderly and infirm in circumstances such as this.” Judge Adkin told Brown: “The jury convicted you unanimously on what was abundant and compelling evidence of this systematic abuse.” He added that the defendant appeared to have “no insight” into the effect of his offending and tried to “wriggle out of it.” Brown will be subject to registration as a sex offender for the rest of his life.