A UK girl who was sexually abused by a man and later told by police they did not have enough evidence to take him to court persuaded her attacker to confess – and recorded him on tape.
Unfortunately, there's no indication of the girl's age. In the Mail Online story, she is called a young woman, but then her abuser is called a pedophile which would indicate that she had not reached puberty. Reeves is also banned from contacting anyone under 16 years of age.
Adam Reeves, 45, from Waddesdon, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, today started an eight-year prison sentence after a judge listened to his confession.
The young woman was so upset when detectives told her they were dropping the case against the deeply religious Reeves that she embarked on the mission to record his confession.
She was today commended by a police officer for her bravery in obtaining the proof which led to her paedophile abuser’s conviction.
Reeves admitted seven counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child after the covert recording was passed to the police and played during his trial at Oxford Crown Court.
I think in America that evidence would have been thrown out of court as a violation of Reeves rights.
Judge Mary Jane Mowat told Reeves that his victim had had her life destroyed by his crimes, which he refused to admit until the evidence was overwhelming.
She said that the victim was determined to see Reeves prosecuted and was not willing to be ‘fobbed off’.
‘She organised a meeting with you in which she recorded you confessing what you had done and in a way apologising to her,’ said the judge.
However, even when confronted with the recording by the police, Reeves continued to deny his crimes and told officers it was God he was saying sorry to.
Judge Mowat said she had ‘never seen a witness more distressed’ than the complainant when she listened to the tape in court.
Speaking about his paedophile attacks, she told Reeves: ‘You told her not to tell anyone and on one occasion you tried to bribe her into silence with a Burger King meal.
Jailing Reeves for eight years, she added: ‘What you were doing, you were doing for your own sexual gratification.’
She added that it was clear from the letters she had received that Reeves was a successful IT worker who was still highly regarded.
Speaking after the hearing, investigating officer Detective Constable Natalie Thompson said: ‘While we would never encourage victims to put themselves at any risk, we commend the victim for her bravery in taping Reeves and his confession.
‘It must have taken a great deal of courage for her to take action like this and we hope this sentence will go some way to helping her feel her actions enabled Reeves to be brought to justice.’
Reeves is now subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning unsupervised contact with anyone under 16 years of age and he will be put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for the rest of his life.
Natalie Brook, manager of the Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre, said: ‘We don’t comment on individual cases but generally, yes, it can be difficult to secure the evidence that is required for a conviction to be reached, which is partly why we see such low conviction rates in the UK.
‘It is often one person’s word against another. What we would suggest to improve that is to ensure that when victims come forward to the police, for them to be supported in the right way and to take them seriously enough to do the proper investigation that the case deserves.’
Amen to that. And Lord please help this girl to put her life back together.
Unfortunately, there's no indication of the girl's age. In the Mail Online story, she is called a young woman, but then her abuser is called a pedophile which would indicate that she had not reached puberty. Reeves is also banned from contacting anyone under 16 years of age.
 |
| Reeves |
The young woman was so upset when detectives told her they were dropping the case against the deeply religious Reeves that she embarked on the mission to record his confession.
She was today commended by a police officer for her bravery in obtaining the proof which led to her paedophile abuser’s conviction.
Reeves admitted seven counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child after the covert recording was passed to the police and played during his trial at Oxford Crown Court.
I think in America that evidence would have been thrown out of court as a violation of Reeves rights.
Judge Mary Jane Mowat told Reeves that his victim had had her life destroyed by his crimes, which he refused to admit until the evidence was overwhelming.
She said that the victim was determined to see Reeves prosecuted and was not willing to be ‘fobbed off’.
‘She organised a meeting with you in which she recorded you confessing what you had done and in a way apologising to her,’ said the judge.
However, even when confronted with the recording by the police, Reeves continued to deny his crimes and told officers it was God he was saying sorry to.
 |
| Oxford Crown Court |
Speaking about his paedophile attacks, she told Reeves: ‘You told her not to tell anyone and on one occasion you tried to bribe her into silence with a Burger King meal.
Jailing Reeves for eight years, she added: ‘What you were doing, you were doing for your own sexual gratification.’
She added that it was clear from the letters she had received that Reeves was a successful IT worker who was still highly regarded.
Speaking after the hearing, investigating officer Detective Constable Natalie Thompson said: ‘While we would never encourage victims to put themselves at any risk, we commend the victim for her bravery in taping Reeves and his confession.
‘It must have taken a great deal of courage for her to take action like this and we hope this sentence will go some way to helping her feel her actions enabled Reeves to be brought to justice.’
Reeves is now subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning unsupervised contact with anyone under 16 years of age and he will be put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for the rest of his life.
Natalie Brook, manager of the Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre, said: ‘We don’t comment on individual cases but generally, yes, it can be difficult to secure the evidence that is required for a conviction to be reached, which is partly why we see such low conviction rates in the UK.
‘It is often one person’s word against another. What we would suggest to improve that is to ensure that when victims come forward to the police, for them to be supported in the right way and to take them seriously enough to do the proper investigation that the case deserves.’
Amen to that. And Lord please help this girl to put her life back together.
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