Brentwood: "Thank you for making me feel safe."

“Thank you for making me feel safe.”

This comes from the survivor of child sexual abuse as she thanked the officer who supported her and ensured she received justice.

On Monday 10 March Timothy Brown was jailed for eight years and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order after previously admitting sexual activity with a child.

The young survivor said:

"I’ve struggled for a long time with this and now, in effect, it’s over."

And paying special tribute to the officer who led the investigation she said:

"I appreciate you to the ends of the earth, you’re an angel and I’m ever so grateful."

In June 2023 officers from our Child Sexual Exploitation team launched an investigation after allegations of child sexual offences were made.

Brown, 36, of Vernon Crescent, Brentwood, was arrested in October 2023. He remained silent throughout two police interviews.

He was initially charged with 15 offences, including sexual offences involving a child.

At court these were amended, and he was charged with:

• Two counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming
• Two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
• Sexual activity with a child
• Sexual assault
• Two counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act
• Intentional strangulation
• Two counts of production of a Class B drug

On 13 January 2025 at Chelmsford Crown Court he admitted sexual activity with a child and two counts of cannabis production. The other charges were left to lie on file.

At the same court on Monday 10 March he was sentenced to five years in prison for sexual activity with a child. The judge ordered an extended licence of three years, due to his dangerousness.

For two production of a Class B drug charges he was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment for each, to run concurrently with each other, and consecutively with the first sentence.

He is also subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, with conditions not to contact girls aged under 16 years.

Lead investigating officer PC Eleanor Rutherford said:

"I want to praise the courage of the victim in this case and anyone else impacted by Brown’s offending.
"Their support has ensured a very dangerous offender is now behind bars and the public is safeguarded from him.
"If you or someone you know thinks they are or have been a victim of child sexual exploitation please contact us.We will listen, support you and thoroughly investigate."

About the CSE Proactive Investigation Team

The CSE Proactive Investigation Team was formed July 2022 and deals with both reactive and proactive investigations that have been referred by partners or from other teams within Essex Police.

They take on both new and older referrals where conventional safeguarding tactics have been previously unsuccessful.

They deal with the most complex and difficult criminal investigations involving the sexual exploitation of children.

Offenders can be individuals or organised groups, they could be using fake profiles to groom young people online, or befriending them and giving them money or alcohol.

We use a variety of tactics to mitigate the threat they present.

This includes reactive investigations responding to referrals from victims, families, and partners as well as those identified through proactive intelligence gathering.

The team also work with our partners to ensure there are bespoke care plans for victims which mean they don’t have to speak to us if they don’t want to, but mean they are given proper support, assistance and guidance by trained professionals from the many children’s charities we work alongside in Essex.

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