Briton, 101, convicted of sex crimes against girls
Print Edition
A 101-year-old man became the oldest Briton ever to be convicted of a criminal offense when he was found guilty yesterday of a string of historical sex crimes against young girls.
Ralph Clarke, a retired truck driver, was convicted of abusing and raping two young sisters in the 1970s and early 80s, having earlier admitted indecently assaulting their brother and attempting to rape him when he was an infant schoolboy.
Despite his age, he is likely to be given a jail term when he is sentenced on Monday.
“Clarke subjected innocent children to truly shocking abuse over a prolonged period,” said Detective Constable Emma Fennon.
“There may be people who question the merits of taking a 101-year-old man to court — but age alone is no defense against prosecution. Those he assaulted had to live with the suffering he inflicted on them for decades.”
Police said he was the oldest person convicted of a crime in British legal history.
Clarke abused the girls, then aged between 4 and 13, at his home in Birmingham, central England, in the cab of his work truck and in his garden shed.
His victims contacted police in August last year having seen Facebook posts celebrating Clarke’s 100th birthday.
In the Birmingham Crown Court, Clarke admitted several indecent assaults, gross indecency and attempted buggery against a boy but denied assaulting the girls, who are now in their 40s, claiming they were serial liars.
But he was unanimously convicted by the jury om more than 20 charges of indecent assault and gross indecency against the two girls.
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