Vile pensioner jailed after raping girl for 14 years – ‘I can’t sleep’

A pensioner has been jailed for a historic campaign of rape and sexual abuse that began when his victim was younger than 13 years old. David Jones, 66, of Moston, Greater Manchester, was sentenced to 18 years at Manchester Crown Court on April 10 after being found guilty of several sex offences over a period of 14 years, including rape and sex with a girl under 13.

Following sentencing, the survivor described the impact it had on her life as an adult, stating she cannot sleep or eat. “After what had happened to me, I had tried to block it all out and get on with my life. But over the years it has been eating away at me. I felt dirty and disgusting when I thought about it and I was ashamed to tell people," she said.

“During everyday life, I can’t eat properly or sleep, because I am overthinking about my past, and how this now affects me with other people, it is hard for me to shut my brain off.

“I have to try and do things to keep me busy, so I don’t focus on what happened and to try and control my anxiety.

“I just want justice for what happened to me so I can try and make things better for myself, get my confidence back and try and leave what happened in the past so I can move forward with my life.”

She came forward to police in 2021, reporting offences that first occurred when she was a child and continued until she was a young adult. Her courage in reporting the abuse led to a full investigation at her pace and the offender being brought to justice.

Jones was convicted of five counts of rape, sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, sexual assault and indecent assault. In addition to jail time for his crimes, he was also given a lifetime restraining order against the victim.

Detective Constable Nicola Woods of GMP’s Online Child Abuse Investigation team said the predator had "preyed on her innocence".

She said: “I would firstly like to commend the bravery of the victim who has shown immense courage and strength during this investigation.

“David Jones preyed on her innocence and repeatedly subjected her to multiple rapes and sexual assaults which continued for well over a decade. He is now behind bars, and I hope that this will give her the chance to begin to move on from this horrific ordeal.

“No matter the age of when abuse happened, if you have gone through this or have witnessed such incidents, please come forward. You will be supported, listened to, and we will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice.”

If you have been affected by any themes in this story, you can call Rape Crisis for free 24-hours a day on 0808 500 2222 for support. You can also visit the website to start a free online chat.