Locations
Victoria Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23
Description
A Craven man has been jailed for more than 18 years after being found guilty of sexually abusing four girls.
Herning Thompson, 82, of Victoria Street, Skipton was arrested in January 2024 after the abuse was reported to North Yorkshire Police.
His heinous offending spanned four decades, between 1981 and 2020, when the victims were aged between five and 12, causing immeasurable harm to those he targeted.
Following an investigation led by the our Harrogate & Craven Safeguarding Investigation Team, Thompson was charged.
He stood trial at Leeds Crown Court , where a jury found him guilty of six counts of indecent assault on a girl under 16; four counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching; four counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by penetration with a part of the body or an object; and two counts of attempted rape of a girl under 13.
He was found not guilty of three counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, and one count of assaulting a boy under 13 by touching.
Thompson appeared at Leeds Crown Court for sentencing today (11 March 2026) where he was ordered by a judge to serve an 18-year jail term, with an extended licence period of 12 months on release. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for life.
In her victim impact statement, one of the victims described how the sexual abuse has had a profound and lifelong impact on her, causing significant emotional distress and trauma.
She explained that what happened to her has deeply undermined her ability to trust others and feel safe around people. She said:
“Although many years have passed, the trauma of what happened has never left me.”
She went on to explain that the impact of the abuse did not end when the incidents stopped, but has continued for decades, affecting her ability to live without fear and anxiety, and still affecting her to this day.
Detective Constable Nicky Wareham of North Yorkshire Police’s Safeguarding Investigation Team, who led on the investigation, said:
“This case has been harrowing for everyone involved, and I want to pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery of the victims.
“Despite the trauma Thompson inflicted, and his attempts to deny his actions and force them through the ordeal of a trial, they stood firm and found the courage to speak out.
“Their strength has ensured that a dangerous and predatory individual has finally been held to account and is now exactly where he belongs. I hope that, in seeing justice be served, the victims are able to move forwards with their lives and begin a process of healing.
“We will always treat reports of child sexual abuse with the utmost seriousness, no matter when they happened, and we remain unwavering in our commitment to protecting vulnerable children and relentlessly pursuing those who cause them harm.”