Former Cadets Leader Jailed for Sexual Offences Against Young Girls

Simon Taplin, a former cadets leader, has been sentenced to four and a half years' imprisonment for non-recent sexual offences against two young girls. The sentencing took place on June 3rd at Portsmouth Crown Court.

Taplin, 64, of Springfied Close in Lavant, was found guilty of two counts of indecently assaulting a girl under the age of 16 on February 20th at the same court. He was also charged with five further counts of sexual assault of a girl under the age of 16, but was found not guilty by the jury.

The investigation was initiated in September 2020 following a third-party report to Sussex Police. The report alleged that a woman had been sexually abused by Taplin as a child. The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, met Taplin at the cadets. He abused his position of power to exploit her, with the first incident occurring in 1996 when she was a teenager.

Taplin continued to sexually abuse her multiple times over the next four years. As part of the investigation, another woman bravely came forward and disclosed that she had also been abused by Taplin during the same period. While a teenager, Taplin abused her during a cadet event, taking advantage of his seniority to sexually assault her.

In addition to the custodial sentence, Taplin was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Detective Constable Jason Berney of the Safeguarding Investigations Unit expressed gratitude for the bravery of the victims who came forward and testified to police and in court. He stated that their courage secured Taplin's sentence and ensured that a man who abused his power to exploit young girls is now behind bars.

Detective Constable Berney also encouraged any victims of sexual abuse to come forward and report any crimes or wrongdoing. He emphasized that the police will investigate, regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred.