[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20068882

A former serviceman and miner has been found guilty of sexually assaulting four young girls in what is believed to be one of the oldest criminal cases in UK legal history.

Reginald Davies, 78, committed the offences between 1949 and 1973 in south Wales.

He was convicted at Kingston Crown Court of 13 offences, including rape, over the 24-year period.

Two of his victims broke down in tears as the verdict was read out.

During the trial, prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters said Davies "preyed on the innocence" of the four girls, leaving them to carry the burden for the rest of their lives.

"You relied on their fear that they would not be believed and told them that they would be taken away from everything they loved," she added.

The former miner, who was extradited from Western Australia in September last year, told the court that the four women - who cannot be named for legal reasons - were in "collusion" and lying.

Davies was found guilty of two charges of child rape, two charges of attempted rape, eight counts of indecent assault and one count of indecency with a child.

He could run, but he couldn't hide .....

[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20093247

A former serviceman and miner who sexually assaulted four girls in south Wales between 1949 and 1973 has been jailed for 11 years.

Reginald Davies, 78, was convicted at Kingston Crown Court in London of 13 offences, including rape of a girl under the age of 12.

His victims, who were aged between nine and 16, were assaulted in the Caerphilly county borough area.

They were at the court and sobbed as the sentence was read out.

The Metropolitan Police said the case involved the oldest charges to be heard in a UK court.

Judge Susan Tapping described Davies's claim that his victims were lying as "nothing more than the wriggling of a cowardly man unable to accept that the past had caught up with him".

She said the victims had found the experience of giving evidence "embarrassing and intrusive", and praised their integrity.

She told Davies: "Their courage both individually and together shone through in this courtroom.

"I hope this light will ease their burdens because none of this was their fault.

"You are the one who must now face your day of reckoning. Maybe you thought you were safe from justice half way around the world, but you were not."

Likely as not, he'll never be free again .....