A man in his 80s has been jailed after he was found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl more than three decades ago.
John Bleasdale was reported to police two years ago for abusing a girl in the 1990s.
During the investigation, the victim revealed a string of assaults committed by Bleasdale, who had been trusted to look after her at a family address in Bulwell.
The victim gave a compelling testimony about the abuse, which started when she was too young to understand what was happening.
Bleasdale, aged 82, of Paskeston Lane, Milton, Pembrokeshire, denied all the allegations against him but was found guilty by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court of two counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 16 between 1991 and 1998.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday (24 July), he was jailed for a total of four years. He was further handed a lifetime restraining order and Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which prohibits him from being in a residence with females aged under 16.
© westbridgfordwire.com
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Dan Blackham, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Public Protection Department, said:
“This case provides yet another reminder to survivors of childhood sexual abuse that it really is never too late to come forward and tell the police what happened.
“Bleasdale’s crimes were committed more than 30 years ago but were treated every bit as seriously as if they were committed yesterday.
“Unsurprisingly, the victim in this case continues to be adversely affected by the abuse as nothing can erase the memory of what happened all those years ago.
“It is thanks to her – and the great courage both displayed in coming forward – that Bleasdale has finally been held to account and exposed for what he had done.
“I hope this jail sentence will provide the victim and her family with some form of closure and that it will encourage other survivors of non-recent sexual abuse to come forward and tell us what happened.”