A retired company director, who accused the Cambs Times of making up paedophile charges against him, has been found guilty of “sickening abuse in a predatory campaign of exploitation” that lasted decades.
Allan Hammond, of March, accused our newspaper of lying when we ran a story about his first court appearance two years ago, and, in a letter to his neighbours, warned he was taking legal proceedings against us.
In the letter to residents of the quiet cul de sac where he lives, the 78 year old and his wife said: “We are a very normal retired couple who wish to get on with our lives and have understandably been very distressed by this story.
“It is being investigated and this may lead to a prosecution.”
Now, following a three week trial, he has been found guilty of 12 paedophile charges and must sign the sexual offenders register.
He will be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on August 17.
An NSPCC spokesperson for the East of England said: “Hammond subjected three young children to sickening abuse in a predatory campaign of exploitation that lasted decades.
“This sort of abuse can have a lasting effect on the lives of victims but it is their tremendous courage in speaking out and their bravery over the course of proceedings that has helped convict him for his vile crimes.
“It is never too late for victims of non-recent abuse to report what happened to them and get support.”
During the trial a jury found him guilty of 11 charges of sexually abusing children from the 1960s through to the early 1990s.
One sexual assault was on a girl who was just eight years old, another was a buggery assault on a boy under the age of 13.
He was also found guilty of one charge of making internet child porn images in 2014.
He protested his innocence throughout the trial, in which the jury heard how Hammond assaulted his female victims in the 1960s and 1970s, and assaulted a boy in the early 1990s.
Hammond previously lived in Essex and the allegations relate to crimes carried out in Saffron Walden, Colchester, Enfield, Chigwell and Chingford.
• The NSPCC’s Helpline is available on 0808 800 5000 for help and advice. Central to the campaign is Pantosaurus the dinosaur who promotes the PANTS rule:
Privates are private
Always remember your body belongs to you
No means no
Talk about secrets that upset you
Speak up – someone can help.
For more information about talking PANTS visit www.NSPCC.org.uk/pants
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