Arthur Bawden, a Paedophile pensioner from Bishops Nympton, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the historical sexual assault of a young girl and boy during trips to a farm in Devon.
Arthur Bawden seized every opportunity to isolate the child with him in the farmhouse, barns, and milking parlour, subjecting her to abuse for years during the 1970s.
She was so young when the assaults commenced that she did not comprehend the wrongdoing of his actions, and as she matured and began to understand sexuality, she felt too intimidated and embarrassed to disclose the incidents to anyone.
He asserted that he had merely made contact with her once when she was 16 and asleep in the kitchen during a farm visit during her school break.
Arthur Bawden also assaulted a little boy who was visiting his farm during that period. He further sequestered him by removing him from the farmhouse prior to engaging in sexual contact.
Arthur Bawden was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison at Exeter Crown Court in 2017 for the abuse of the youngster; however, the Court of Appeal rejected the jury’s verdicts and mandated a retrial.
He was discharged last year but was found guilty on numerous allegations by a fresh jury last month for a second time.
Arthur Bawden was cleared of two charges of rape and two of indecent assault against the girl in the initial trial and was found not guilty of eight further counts of indecency in the recent trial last month.
Arthur Bawden, 74, of Joey’s Field, Bishops Nympton, was convicted of 11 charges of indecent assault or indecency against the girl and one count of indecently assaulting the boy.
He confessed to indecently abusing the girl on one occasion, which he said occurred after she turned 16.
He was jailed for 10 years and four months and put on the sex offenders register for life by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.
The judge told him: “The indecent assaults started with touching the girl when she was seven or eight and continued to when she was 13 to 15.
“By that time you had to be more forcible to commit the offence because she had grown older and became more resistant. You took the boy to a location away from your home where you said you had work to do.
“There has been an ongoing effect an both victims throughout their childhood and into adulthood and up to the present day.
“The profound way abuse affects people personally and psychologically was clear from the evidence at the trial and from the victim personal statements.
“You tried to blacken and undermine the female victim’s character. That demonstrates that you have very little true remorse and you fail to understand the true extent of the harm you caused.
“You made reference during your evidence of the girl ‘making a meal of it’ in relation to the one offence you admitted.”
During the two trials, the girl, now an adult, told the jury how Arthur Bawden started to abuse her during farm visits. He bribed her with money and sweets and sexually assaulted her in various farm buildings.
The boy told the jury he had loved visiting the farm but had been sexually assaulted when Arthur Bawden took him to work with him away from the main buildings.
In his evidence, Arthur Bawden claimed he was too busy running a 90 acre farm with his father Reg to have time to abuse the girl. He said he had never been left alone with her when she was young.
Miss Phillipa McAtasney, defending, said Arthur Bawden is in poor health and suffering from arthritis and had been assaulted and threatened during the ten months he spent in jail after his first conviction.
He had lived a blameless life before and after committing these offences and had helped the community by giving land for a new village hall.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.