Warwickshire man jailed for sexually assaulting 12-year-old girl - police praise victim’s bravery

A Warwickshire man has been jailed for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

Police have praised the bravery of the young victim for speaking to her friend about the terrifying ordeal.

That led to Mark Mitchell, of Warton, being sentenced at Warwick Crown Court to 21 months in prison for sexually assaulting a girl under 13 and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.

The 53-year-old man has also received a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, a ten year restraining order, and will be required to register as a sex offender.

On March 24, 2019, officers received a report that Mitchell had inappropriately touched a 12-year-old girl’s groin for a period of around 15 minutes.

The girl had messaged a friend in the early hours of March 24 saying “Scared, need to tell you, can’t even tell mum”, and “Mark sexually abused me”. The friend told her mother, who informed the victim’s parents.

The girl had not initially wanted to tell her parents, in fear of getting Mitchell into trouble, but did eventually disclose what had happened. Her parents called the police shortly afterwards.

DC Usher of the Child Abuse, Trafficking, and Exploitation (CATE) Team said “Mitchell took advantage of a young girl for his own gratification and it’s only right that he’s going to be staring at the inside of a cell for the better part of the next two years.

“It is thanks to the bravery of the victim for confiding in a friend that something was wrong, and to the bravery of that friend in telling her parents, that we were able to step in before anything else happened.

“Our thoughts are with the victim and her family at this time.”