Locations
Seaton Ross, Melbourne, Yorkshire, YO42
Description
A prominent and "highly thought of" farmer from the Pocklington area has been branded "horrible" and "vile" after he repeatedly sexually assaulted a girl, causing her "repeated nightmares".
Peter Fletcher took advantage of the girl on a number of occasions but he later tried to pretend that the accusations against him were "total lies" and that they had been "made up" by people because they were out to "ruin" him.
He also targeted two other children for nasty cruelty that left them suffering serious long-term problems and feeling that he had stolen their childhoods from them, Hull Crown Court heard.
Fletcher, 57, of Seaton Ross, near Melbourne and west of Market Weighton, denied an offence of sexual assault but he was convicted by a jury on a majority verdict of 10 to two after a retrial. He was cleared of three other offences of sexual assault.
He was also convicted of six offences of child cruelty, involving two girls and a boy. The jury returned majority verdicts of 11 to one for those offences.
The girl said in a statement that she had been diagnosed with depression after her ordeal. "I wanted to die in my sleep," she said.
"I find it hard to communicate the pain that Mr Fletcher has inflicted. I find it hard to trust men in general." She had suffered "repeated nightmares".
Another girl, who was targeted for cruelty, said: "I remember being very scared of him. He was very unpredictable. I never knew what mood he was going to be in. I felt like I had no way out.
"We were petrified of him and the threats he made. I would describe Peter as a bully. I will never forget the trauma he has caused. He stole my childhood from me."
A boy who suffered cruelty from Fletcher condemned him as a "horrible man" and said: "I went off the rails. One of the things that I can't forgive Mr Fletcher for is that he stole my childhood.
"Still today, I struggle to sleep. He is a vile individual. I will never be able to forgive Mr Fletcher for the things he has done."
Paul Williams, mitigating, said that Fletcher was capable of being a different person. "He is not a danger to children generally," said Mr Williams.
Fletcher's health had declined and he would find a prison sentence that much harder. "Any sentence of custody will have a real impact," said Mr Williams. Fletcher had convictions for two previous offences, including assault.
Judge Mark Bury told Fletcher: "They have all struggled, all three of them, with their mental health. They find it difficult to let people in and they push people away.
"All three, I hope, will obtain some closure from today. They can hold their heads up knowing that they have come to court to tell complete strangers their story and they can have the comfort of the fact that those strangers have believed their story."
Judge Bury said that Fletcher had given evidence during his trial and he had claimed that the children were lying about him and that it was "all about money" as far as he was concerned.
At an earlier hearing in August, Judge Bury told Fletcher: "You have been convicted by the jury on what I regard as strong evidence. You are a working man who is highly thought of in the farming community in the Pocklington area."
During the trial, Fletcher spoke of his work as a farmer and agricultural contractor, making reference to "200 acres of land and 200-head of cattle". When he was asked by the prosecution whether he sexually assaulted the girl by repeatedly groping or slapping her bottom, he replied: "Certainly not" and "Not at all."
He claimed that the other incidents did not happen. "I wouldn't do it," he claimed. "They are just accusations." He claimed that those who had made allegations against him were just trying to "ruin" him and he denied any claims of cruelty to children. "No, it wouldn't happen," he claimed. "I suggest it didn't happen. It's made up. It just didn't happen. Total lies. Anybody can make lies up.
"It's to put me in prison. They are jealous of what I have done for myself. I keep my head down. I run my own business. They are out to ruin me."
He denied that people who knew or suspected what had been going on had previously called him a "paedo" at the time and he denied that anything sexual took place. He denied being sexually attracted to the girl and making sexualised comments to her, although he admitted that he thought she was a "nice girl".
Fletcher was jailed for six years and he was given a ten-year restraining order.