Saffron Walden: Brave victim of sexual assault speaks out as man is jailed

A man, who sexually abused three children and then accused them of lying has been sentenced to time in prison.

Anthony Kamau, 51 formerly of Winstanley Road, Saffron Walden appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday, 14 June where he was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, after being found guilty of multiple sexual offences against three children.

Kamau was arrested in February 2019 by Essex Police’s Quest Team, who specialise in investigating non-recent sexual offences against children. Enquiries revealed that Kamau had spent 10 years, sexually abusing three girls between 2006 and 2017. A thorough investigation by Quest resulted in him being charged with two counts of sexual assault by touching, three counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity and two counts of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.

Prior to his first court hearing, despite having his passport seized, Kamau fled the country. Caroline Horden, from Essex Police’s Crime and Public Protection Command worked closely with multiple agencies to track Kamau down in Nairobi and extradited him back to the UK.

On Monday, 3rd April, he was found guilty of all charges and further charged with breach of a court bail. This morning (14th June) he appeared in court where he was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison.

In addition to this, after serving his sentence, Kamau will not have the right to return to the UK.

Caroline Horden, who managed the investigation said “Kamau put the victim’s through horrendous abuse and tried to run away from what he did.

“He put the victims through the trial and implied they were lying, only to then admit what he had done to probation services in a pre-sentencing interview.

“The victims have handled the entire investigation with dignity and maturity, and I really hope that this sentencing allows them to move forward.”

Following the sentencing, one victim has have bravely shared their experience of this investigation:

“Coming forward to Essex Police about my experience with sexual assault was not what I expected. I felt comfortable speaking to the officers involved from the very start. Understandably not everyone is as comfortable with sharing such intimate details. But there is only so long you can keep it bottled in for and there will always come a time when you just want to release the burden and fully heal from it.

“Whether it takes you months or years to come forward, it brings sense of ending to the situation and the most validating feeling is to have the support of such a great team like Essex police.

“Sometimes with trauma like sexual assault , it’s easy to push the feelings so far in the back of your mind , that you actually forget details of an incident. My biggest piece of advice is to try and remember all the key details - that way if you do decide to report an incident later in life , you will be more confident and certain of your truth .

“This also has a knock on effect with helping you heal and not carrying it with you for too long. The officers involved in my case were persistent in bringing the defendant to justice and constantly reminded me that the only person who should feel guilty is the perpetrator.”

Essex Police’s Quest team investigates cases where the victim was a child at the time of the abuse but is now an adult.

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/