A 64-year-old man, Alan Beecroft, from Sheffield, convicted of sexually abusing a child for almost a decade, has been sentenced to more than six years in prison.
Alan Beecroft commenced the abuse of his victim, whose identity is protected for legal reasons, while she was under the age of 10.
Detective Constable Helen Timms, from Sheffield’s Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP) team, said: “The victim in this case has demonstrated exceptional courage in sharing with police details of the horrific abuse she suffered as a young child.
“Sexual abuse can have a significant and lasting impact on its victims, indeed the victim in this case was so traumatised by her abuse that she felt she couldn’t tell anyone what was happening.
“It was only in 2021, when Alan Beecroft was jailed for sexual offences committed against other children, that the victim felt able to disclose his awful crimes. She has shown incredible strength throughout our investigation and the legal process and I am pleased that we have been able to secure justice for her.”
Alan Beecroft, already serving a jail term at Marsh Gate prison, Doncaster, for other offences, was convicted of 11 counts of indecent assault at Sheffield Crown Court.
Last month Alan Beecroft was sentenced to a further six years and nine months in prison. This will run concurrently to his existing prison term of four years.
DC Timms added: “I hope this case further highlights to the public how committed we are to securing justice for victims of sexual abuse, irrespective of when that abuse took place.”
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