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A man has been jailed after being found guilty of multiple sexual offences against children.
Derek Turner aged 66 of The Oaks, Wickford appeared at Basildon Crown Court on Wednesday, 16 August where he was jailed for 12 years.
An investigation into Turner was launched in July 2020, when two victims bravely contacted Essex Police to report that they had been sexually assaulted by Turner multiple times between 1992 and 2007.
Turner was working as a music teacher at the time of the offences, but the offences did not take place within a school.
When interviewed, Turner denied all offences. Following an investigation by Essex Police’s Child Abuse Investigation Team, Turner was charged with four counts of indecent assault on a boy under the age of 14 years, two counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14, Sexual assault on a Child and Attempted Sexual assault on a Child.
After a two-week trial, Turner was found guilty of all offences and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was also put on the Sexual Offenders Register for life, issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life and barred from teaching for life.
Acting Detective Inspector Tiffany Gore said “I would like to praise the victims and their family for their courage in coming forward and reporting their abuse to the Police.
"The victims were made to re-live the horrendous abuse they were put through as children, in order to secure justice, simply because Turner would not admit to what he had done. During sentencing Turner was described as a perverted and manipulative abuser.
"The impact these crimes have had on the victims and their family has been catastrophic, and I only hope that this result, will go some way to providing them with some form of closure. This sentence is a direct result of the bravery the victims have demonstrated throughout, and I commend them for this.
"I would like to encourage any victim of sexual abuse, no matter how old you are or when the offences took place, to report to us. We will always support victims of sexual and child abuse and we work closely with our partners as Synergy, who are able to provide specialist support which is independent from the Police.”
Support is there for anyone affected by rape and sexual abuse, and no victim or survivor is alone. Synergy Essex provides specialist support for victims and survivors of rape and sexual abuse of all ages and all genders across Essex, Thurrock and Southend.
Synergy Essex is a partnership of rape and sexual abuse centres in Essex: CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse), SERICC Rape and Sexual Abuse Specialist Service and Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SOS Rape Crisis). Synergy Essex is independent from the police and provides support for victims and survivors throughout their journey.
Victims and survivors can self-refer, or be referred by a parent, partner, friend or professional and can access specialist emotional support, counselling and advocacy. For victims and survivors who report to the police, Synergy Essex provides an Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) service, providing support throughout the criminal justice process.
For more information visit the Synergy Essex website: https://synergyessex.org.uk/