Convicted of raping a girl between the ages of 8 and 15.

Portsmouth Man Jailed for 13 Years for Raping Child

A Portsmouth man, Paul Deacon (67), has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for a string of non-recent sexual offenses against a young girl. Deacon was found guilty following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.

The offenses, which included rape, indecent assault, gross indecency, and inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity, spanned a period between the victim's ages of 8 and 15. Some of the offenses dated back more than 20 years.

Deacon denied all charges, but was convicted on all counts after the trial. He was sentenced on August 25th.

Detective Constable Graham Skull of Hampshire Constabulary's Operation Amberstone team stated, "Paul Deacon is a sexual predator who forced himself on an innocent young girl on multiple occasions."

He continued, "I would like to commend the victim for her bravery and courage in coming to us to report her ordeal and help secure the guilty verdict against this despicable man. I hope she finds some comfort in knowing the man who attacked her will now be behind bars for many years."

Skull concluded by emphasizing the commitment of Hampshire Constabulary to bringing sexual offenders to justice and encouraged other victims to come forward and report their experiences.