August 2012
Ashby man jailed for sexually abusing two schoolgirls
A man who sexually abused two schoolgirls has been jailed for five years.
Craig Duffy had unlawful sex with a 13-year-old and indecently assaulted a 14-year-old.
Duffy (22), of Holywell Avenue, Ashby, was recently convicted of both offences by a jury at Leicester Crown Court.
He was sentenced by Recorder Martin Butterworth, the trial judge, at Northampton Crown Court on Friday.
Mr Butterworth said: “There is evidence of grooming behaviour from his practice of befriending young people for the purpose of committing offences against them.”
He rejected a suggestion in a psychiatric report that Duffy, who maintains his innocence, was unlikely to reoffend.
Duffy was told that after serving half the sentence he would be on a longer than normal licence period of four years.
He was also banned from having unsupervised contact with girls under 16.
During his trial, Duffy claimed the girls fabricated the allegations against him.
After the jury delivered its guilty verdicts, the court heard he had received police warnings about his conduct in relation to two other young girls.
Photographs of girls in various stages of undress were found on his mobile phone.
Andrew Vout, prosecuting, said no charges resulted from the pictures because it was difficult to establish the age and identity of the girls.
Duffy was also said to have contact details of girls under 16 on his phone.
During the trial, the 13-year-old victim said she came into contact with Duffy via her BlackBerry mobile phone’s messaging application. An arrangement was made for them to meet for the first time at his home and have sex.
Mr Vout said during the trial: “She agreed to go after school. She was wearing her school uniform. She spoke to him on the phone as she made her way to his home.
“He let her in and took her upstairs.”
Duffy elected not to give evidence in his defence, but in his police interview claimed he never had any dealings with the girl and did not know her.
However, the jury heard he made a call to her mobile, lasting several minutes, before her visit to his home.
She was also able to accurately describe his bedroom.
The court heard Duffy had given the 14-year-old victim a lift in his van. He parked in a country lane, tried to kiss her and grabbed her hair to pull her towards him.
Duffy disagreed during his police interview, saying he never gave the girl a lift in his van.
In mitigation, Duffy was described as “unsophisticated,” and as having “distorted thinking”.
