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29
Apr 2022
Harrogate man found guilty of sexual abuse of young girl
Warning: this article contains details some readers may find disturbing
A Harrogate paedophile is facing a long prison sentence for the systematic sexual abuse of a young girl.
Neil Michael Stubbs, 26, was convicted of 13 separate offences this week following a four-day trial at York Crown Court.
The jury heard that Stubbs, of Kingsley Park Road, Starbeck, groomed and sexually abused the youngster over a prolonged period.
They found him guilty of all 13 charges, including one count of attempted rape of a child under 13 years of age, two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, sexual assault, possessing indecent images and several counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Prosecutor Paul Newcombe said that some of the offences — including engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, sexual assault and causing a child to engage in sexual activity — were “specimen counts”, meaning they happened on multiple occasions.
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He said that Stubbs would perform lewd acts on himself in front of the girl and got her to perform sexual acts on him on at least six occasions.
Stubbs also “pestered” her to send him naked photos of herself, added Mr Newcombe.
Following his arrest, police seized Stubbs’s phone on which they found indecent images of children, including some naked photos of the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Some of the other images were rated Category A – the worst kind of such material.
Mr Newcombe said it showed that Stubbs had an “unhealthy obsession” with children.
The jury returned their verdicts yesterday (Thursday, April 28). Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, adjourned sentence to August 15.
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