April 2016
Sex offender convicted of crimes against girl, 7
A SEX offender is in jail awaiting sentence for abusing a girl on several occasions, starting when she was seven.
The girl, now a woman, told her mother at the time how Christopher Stevenson Harvey carried out sex attacks on her and believed her mum would speak to him, Ian Howard, prosecuting, told York Crown Court. But the attacks continued.
Mr Howard said: “She felt it had just been swept under the carpet.”
She eventually told another relative, but felt unable at that stage to tell police. With support from the relative, she got to a stage where, after a couple of years, she could talk to the NSPCC and eventually to the police.
Christopher Stevenson Harvey, 30, of Rowntree Avenue, Clifton, denied four charges of indecent assault and two sexual activity charges.
The child’s mother gave evidence on his behalf and claimed the victim had never told her about sexual abuse.
The jury convicted of him of three indecent assaults unanimously and the fourth indecent assault by a majority during seven and a half hours in retirement at the end of a five-day trial.
Judge Paul Batty QC discharged them after they failed to reach a verdict on one of the sexual activity charges and directed a not guilty verdict on the other. All the offences occurred in the early part of this century.
He told Harvey: “A sentence of some length is quite inevitable.”
In his evidence, Harvey denied behaving improperly towards the victim on any occasion and denied being alone with her whenever he was at her home.
The jury heard he worked in the car parts business and was arrested at his then place of work on Clifton Moor.
He said of the allegations: “It was devastating. I lost my job last year because of them.”
Harvey was on bail throughout the trial, but was remanded in custody after the guilty verdicts. He will be sentenced on May 18.
