Staffordshire man found guilty of child rape and other sexual offences after brave victim comes forward
A Staffordshire man has been convicted of 18 crimes, including several child sex offences, after a police investigation sparked by one of the survivors speaking out.
Andrew Robert Pope was found guilty by a jury at the end of a trial at Stafford Crown Court on June 3, bringing to an end a year-long investigation by Staffordshire Police.
The investigation into the 56-year-old from Burton-on-Trent began in May last year after one of the survivors came forward and told someone about what happened.
Staffordshire Police said that throughout the course of its investigation, a number of survivors were spoken to and the force gathered all of the evidence needed and arrested Pope, who denied all of the offences when he was interviewed in custody.
A search of his house uncovered a phone with indecent images on it, while a further survivor came forward and told the force about more crimes that Pope had committed.
Pope was charged a number of offences and taken to court and while he continued to deny his crimes, a jury deemed him guilty on all 18 charges.
These included seven counts of rape of a girl, nine counts of engaging in sexual activity with a girl, one count of making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child and one count of assaulting a person thereby occasioning them actual bodily harm.
Detective Sergeant Gemma Szalapski, from the Staffordshire Police rape and serious sexual offences unit, said: “By working tirelessly to find out the extent of Pope’s crimes, we were able to help another survivor come forward and seek the right support.
“It is their immeasurable bravery that has resulted in this outcome. I’m pleased that the verdict was reached and all of Pope’s offending will be recognised, despite his attempts to hide the truth.”
Pope is due to be sentenced at Stafford Crown Court on October 3.
