A Norwich pensioner has today been jailed for 21 years in prison after he was convicted of a string of historical sexual offences against nine victims.
Colin Waterfield, 70, of Stonehouse Road, Norwich, appeared at Norwich Crown Court this afternoon for sentencing after he was found guilty following a trial of rape and sex assaults involving eight children and one adult and possessing extreme porn but was cleared of six charges including aiding and abetting rape.
He had denied all the offences but the jury last month took less than five hours to convict him of 24 of the 30 counts he faced.
Sentencing Waterfield today, Judge Stephen Holt urged him to read the victim personal statements in the case.
Judge Holt said they were 'desperately sad' with many of the victims still 'bearing the scars' of the abuse they have suffered.
The offences took place between 1973 and 1995, and includes sex offences involving children.
The prosecution also told how Waterfield had an interest in sexual activity with animals and the jury has heard during the four week trial that he was investigated in the 1990s for the sexual abuse of boys, but no charges were brought at that time. The case was re-opened in 2013.
In his summing up, Judge Holt told the jury that the prosecution claimed Waterfield posed a 'serious danger' of sexual abuse to children he came into contact with, and said the abuse took place over a number of years.
He said that Waterfield chose not to give evidence in the trial and said the defence case was that the allegations were all lies and did not happen.
Detective Inspector, Paul Brown, who oversaw the investigation, welcomed the sentence. He said: 'Waterfield preyed on vulnerable children purely for his own sexual gratification. It was abuse of the most horrendous kind causing not only physical harm but leaving them psychologically scarred.
'By pleading not guilty, Waterfield continued the mental torture of his victims who had to endure a five-week trial, which for many was extremely demanding for them. His victims have been left psychologically scarred and many are still struggling to come to terms what happened to them.
'Still, despite being found guilty, Waterfield continues to show no remorse to his victims and my only hope is they can gain some comfort in the fact he will now in prison for a considerable amount of time.'
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