By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-01-17 22:41:06 | Updated at 2025-01-18 02:04:37
3 hours ago
A court has heard how a mother may not have told police that her husband was sexually abusing her 12-year-old daughter due to "cultural factors."
The husband was convicted of rape, sexual assaults and ill-treatment of the girl, his step-daughter, over the course of several years.
Reading Crown Court heard that the girl would be "screaming at the defendant to stop" forcefully hitting her.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lived with the 34-year-old defendant in her mother's flat in Windsor, Berkshire, which was in a filthy condition.
Reading Crown Court heard that the girl would be "screaming at the defendant to stop" forcefully hitting her
Neither the prosecution nor the defence had called the mother to give evidence as a witness during the trial, something the jury had questioned the court in a written note.
The judge in the case told the jury not to speculate as to the reasons why they had not heard from the mother.
Gadsden, who pointed to the pictures of the family home taken by police added: "That sort of mother, who was prepared to leave the kitchen in that kind of condition and the sink in that kind of condition, might be the sort of person who did not respond positively to her child asking for help."
The jury unanimously convicted the defendant of ill-treatment of a person under 16, two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 and one count of rape of a child under 13.
Recorder Jeremy Benson KC told jurors: "A substantial custodial sentence is likely to be the result, as a result of the kind of offending and the breach of trust."
The step-father was remanded into custody ahead of a sentencing date to be fixed.
