By Grimsby man guilty of child sexual abuse
A Grimsby man who subjected a young child to years of sexual abuse has been found guilty and jailed.
Kenneth Leslie Mantle, 62, of Willingham Street, Grimsby was jailed on Thursday the 12th of march following a four day trial.
He has been sentenced for 24 years after a jury found him guilty at Grimsby Crown Court.
Mantle was convicted of five counts of rape of a girl under 16, one of assault causing actual bodily harm and one of gross indecency with a girl under 16.
All of the offences occurred in North East Lincolnshire between 1980 and the 1990s.
The court heard how Mantle had carried out the string of offences using various threats against her, including saying he would drown her puppy, if she didn’t do what he asked or told anyone about the offences.
Detective Constable Nick Pearce of Humberside Police said:
“Mantle is an absolutely loathsome and vile man who showed no care and little regard for the young girl, using violent and heartless threats to terrify her into not telling anyone about the horror that he was putting her through.
His actions were absolutely incomprehensible; he inflicted untold suffering for his own perverse gratification, continuing even now by making the woman endure the harrowing ordeal of a trial.
However, the bravery the woman in this case has shown has been highly commendable and I want to offer my thanks for her patience and understanding throughout both the investigation process and court proceedings, as they have been long and complex processes.
Mantle will be behind bars for a long time and unable to commit any further offences, which is largely down to the woman’s courage in coming forward.
I would encourage anyone if you have been a victim of a sexual offence to please get in touch. We will listen and support you throughout the investigative process and do all that we can to hold those responsible to account and to bring them before the courts.”
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