Man jailed after being found guilty of child abuse offences

A man from Cannock has been jailed after been found guilty at trial of child sexual offences.

David Pedley, 56, of Mendip Road, Hednesford, was jailed for 17 years on 29 January at Stafford Crown Court.

Non-recent allegation of abuse against a child were reported to the force in December 2017 and an investigation was launched. He was arrested in December 2017, but denied all allegations.

He was subsequently found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, four counts of rape a female aged under 16 years and four counts of other sexual offences with a female under 16 years.

Pedley was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Detective Constable Matt Burton, of the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences unit, who investigated the case, said: “Pedley subjected his victim to many incidents of sexual abuse over a prolonged period of several years.

“I applaud the strength and courage of the woman for coming forward, and for supporting a lengthy investigation. I hope that today’s sentence will help her to move forward with her life.

“It is never too late to report sexual offence to us, no matter how long ago it happened. We will do all we can to investigate such cases and bring offenders to justice.”