July 31, 2017 1.22 pm This story is over 80 months old

Former Grantham man jailed for rape of child 30 years ago

A former Grantham man who admitted raping a child and abusing another girl more than 30 years ago was today (Mon) jailed for eight years. Mark Richard Hunt, who now lives in Telford, Shropshire, was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life after he was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court. Hunt, 48,…
Lincoln Crown Court. Photo: Lincolnshire Reporter

A former Grantham man who admitted raping a child and abusing another girl more than 30 years ago was today (Mon) jailed for eight years.

Mark Richard Hunt, who now lives in Telford, Shropshire, was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life after he was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court.

Hunt, 48, had pleaded guilty to two charges of rape on a child between 1984 and 1986 when he was aged between 15 and 17. The charges reflected abuse that happened on a number of occasions.

He also admitted a charge of indecent assault on another girl between 1980 and 1982 after accepting that he engaged in sexual intercourse with the child.

The court heard Hunt could not be charged with a more serious offence because the law at the time of the offence did not recognise that a boy aged under 14 was capable of sexual intercourse or could receive a custodial sentence for the indecent assault.

Richard Thatcher, prosecuting, told the court Hunt would sometimes put his hand over the mouths’ of his two victims to stop them from shouting and also warned them that they would not be believed.

One of Hunt’s victims remained quiet for over 20 years until 2007 when she confided in a counsellor, the court was told.

Both women, who can not be named, read out “poignant” victim impact statements in court which described the lasting impact of the abuse from Hunt.

Hunt’s first victim described how she “went through hell”. She said: “The trauma of this ruined my childhood and continues to ruin my life.”

The second victim added: “What he did to me impacts on every part of my life, I could not trust anybody, male or female.”

When Hunt, of Queens Court, Madeley, Telford, was questioned by police he made “blanket denials”.

The court heard Hunt had 24 convictions for 84 offences but nothing of a similar sexual nature.

Nicholas Bleaney, mitigating, told the court: “This happened a long time ago and has never been repeated.”

Before passing sentence Judge Simon Hirst explained that he could not pass a custodial sentence for the indecent assault because of the law at the time of the offence. The judge said he would have passed a consecutive sentence for the offence if the law allowed it.

The judge explained he also had to reduce the length of sentence because of Hunt’s age at the time of his offending and his guilty pleas.

Judge Hirst told Hunt there was little evidence he had tried to “atone” for his conduct which had been for his own sexual gratification.

He added: “It is clear in their different ways both (victims) were profoundly effected by your abuse of them.”