Man Jailed For 17 Years Following Series Of Rapes On West Sussex Teenager

Thursday, 23 July 2020 11:04

A 55-year-old man from Portsmouth has been jailed for 17 years after being convicted for a series of sexual assaults and rapes against a teenage girl in West Sussex.

Larry White, now of Canal Walk, Portsmouth, was sentenced to a total of 17 years imprisonment at Portsmouth Crown Court on Monday 20 July, having been convicted on the previous Friday of a series of serious sexual assaults including rapes.

The girl was aged between 14 and 16, when the attacks occurred in Emsworth, West Sussex between 2014 and 2016.

White will be a registered sex offender indefinitely and was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order severely restricting his contact with children, to last until further court order.

Detective Constable Leigh Rankin of the West Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit said:

"White came to know this young girl and took advantage of her vulnerability to sexually abuse her for his own gratification for two years.

"Eventually she felt strong enough to confront him and to tell us. We immediately took action, arresting White and carrying out a thorough investigation which established the full and appalling nature of his offending.

"His victim has given full support to the investigation and bravely gave her evidence in court.

"This case shows once again that we will resolutely investigate all such reports, support the victims and seek justice for them wherever possible."

The victim said:

"I couldn't have asked for a better outcome. It took a long time to achieve this result but I'd do it all again without a second thought. This man was well practiced in what he did and there is no doubt in my mind that there were victims before me.

"I hope upon reading this article, said victims can muster up the courage to tell their story or at least take comfort in the fact that Larry White is in prison paying for his crimes."

For further advice and sources of support over child sexual exploitation see the Sussex Police website.