Paedophile jailed for three years

AN IPSWICH paedophile is today behind bars for befriending and then indecently assaulting an 11-year-old schoolboy.Clive Bagshaw, of Kelly Road, appeared in court for the first time yesterday to receive a three-year jail sentence after a jury convicted him in his absence of sexually assaulting the boy.

AN IPSWICH paedophile is today behind bars for befriending and then indecently assaulting an 11-year-old schoolboy.

Clive Bagshaw, of Kelly Road, appeared in court for the first time yesterday to receive a three-year jail sentence after a jury convicted him in his absence of sexually assaulting the boy.

Ipswich Crown Court heard how Bagshaw, 32, befriended the boy but for the first two years of their friendship, there was no sexual contact.

Angela Rippon, prosecuting, said: "It was only when the visits to Bagshaw's home became more regular that his mother started to become uneasy. Her son had started to become more withdrawn and increasingly nasty and aggressive towards his two sisters."

While the boy continued to deny anything was wrong, on December 27, 2002 she quizzed him again and he told her what had happened.

Miss Rippon went on: "He told her he didn't know why he kept going back, or why he had kept it a secret from his mother."

Police arrested Bagshaw, who recently trained as a wielder, but he later absconded. Police eventually interviewed him in March 2002 during which time he told officers he had "no comment" apart from asserting on two occasions that nothing sexual had taken place.

Bagshaw failed to appear at his trial in February this year, sparking a warrant for his arrest.

Bagshaw's victim gave evidence to Ipswich Crown Court at his trial via a video link.

A jury convicted Bagshaw of four counts of indecent assault including indecently touching the boy and performing sex acts on him.

In mitigation defence counsel Oliver James said: "There were no threats and no bribery, which is typical in these situations. There was no malicious intention where grooming can be said to have occurred."

Previous offences were largely motoring, he added, none was for a sexual offence.

He added, Bagshaw failed to appear in court because he had difficulty getting to Ipswich from an address in Kettering where he lived.

Mr James said: "The most serious disadvantage of that was to himself in that he disenfranchised himself from knowing what went on at his trial."

Judge John Devaux also sentenced Bagshaw to serve a three-month jail term, concurrently, for failure to surrender to bail – a charge which Bagshaw admitted.

Bagshaw was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life.