Peter Bingham, an individual subjected a minor to mistreatment before redirecting their focus towards another juvenile victim, employing presents as a means to secure her silence. The actions of Peter Bingham had a profoundly destructive impact on the girls, with one victim from Flintshire reporting that she resorted to self-harm as a means of injuring her own body.
The 54-year-old individual, Peter Bingham, was ultimately held accountable for his actions after a jury convicted him of five sexual crimes in April. The defendant was sentenced to a cumulative term of five years by a judge at Mould Crown Court. According to Prosecutor Elen Owen, the perpetrator’s initial victim was below the age of 12 when the abuse began. The court was provided with a detailed account of the episodes.
Later, when the victim told Peter Bingham to stop, he reacted angrily, the court heard. Her mother trusted the man and “brushed off” his behaviour, but she had been “groomed” by him too, said Ms Owen.
However, when the abused daughter reached her mid-teens Peter Bingham’s offending stopped “quite abruptly”. Ms Owen said: “He turned his attention to (a) younger girl.” This was a girl who remembers being abused by Peter Bingham just before her ninth birthday, the court heard.
Peter Bingham’s first victim, who is grown-up, read out a statement in court in which she recalled the abusive events. She said she later self-harmed because she wanted to destroy her body “so no man ever wanted to touch” it again.
She also said she will not allow anyone to tickle her as he did it and still struggles to accept kindness, fearing people might want something in return. She blocked out the memories of the abuse out of self-preservation but coming to the trial had brought it all back and she dreaded the possibility she might see her abuser in court.
The second victim did not read out her statement in court today but the judge said he had read it and recounted details from the statement to the court. The judge Mr Recorder John Philpotts told Bingham he would give the first victim presents to buy her silence. He jailed Peter Bingham, of Durrell Close, Linslade, Leighton Buzzard, for four years each for two assaults on a girl under 13 by touching, with one term to run concurrently.
In addition, he sentenced Peter Bingham to 12 months in prison for two additional instances of assaulting a girl under the age of 13 by touching, to be served one after the other, and six months for a sexual attack on a female, to be served at the same time – resulting in a total of five years of incarceration.
Peter Binghamis required to enrol in the sex offenders’ registry permanently.