Locations
Back Sitwell Street, Derby, DE1
Description
A man who preyed on three young girls has been jailed after being found guilty of sexual abuse.
Russel Thornton sexually assaulted the girls on separate occasions between 2014 and 2020, with one of his victims being just 13 at the time.
The abuse was reported to police in 2021, and Thornton was subsequently interviewed and summonsed to court.
The 38-year-old denied engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15, causing or inciting a girl age 13-15 to engage in sexual activity, and three counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl age 13-15.
He was found guilty of the above charges at trial in November 2025.
In poignant victim impact statements, which were read out in court, the young women now in their twenties, explained the lasting impact of Thornton’s offending.
All three women alluded to the trauma that Thornton’s abuse caused them as children, a trauma that continues to affect them deeply years after the abuse stopped.
They also spoke about being forced to relive painful memories of what happened to them as a result of the court process, with Thornton refusing to admit what he had done resulting in them being put through the ordeal of a trial.
Thornton, of Back Sitwell Street, Derby, was sentenced at hearing at Derby Crown Court on 26 February 2026.
A judge handed him nine year sentence, a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered him to register with police for life.
Detective Constable Tracey Cass, Officer in the case, said:
“This has been a long road for the survivors in this case, and I would like to thank the three women for their bravery and stoicism throughout.
“I would also like to encourage others who have been affected by such offending, now or in the past, to report it to us if you feel able.
“This case shows we can and do get results, and for survivors it is not just about a prison sentence. It is also the opportunity to speak out in court and tell their story – while a perpetrator is held publicly accountable.”