A suspected scam is behind bars after police said he raped a girl in broad daylight after she strayed from her parents.
Hampshire Live reports that the incident took place on 31 August 2020 in Fort Victoria Country Park on the Isle of Wright in England. On Friday, suspect Graham Medway, 62, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a minor during his trial in the Isle of Wight Crown Court.
According to court documents, the 3-year-old victim was walking along the beach with her family when she ran out in front of them and wandered off. Medway, who was wandering around the toilet area of the park, spotted the child and grabbed her.
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Medway took the girl to a remote area and ‘put his erect penis in her mouth’, court documents read.
Dog walkers showed the child’s mother to the fort area after they saw her frantically looking for her daughter. The dog walkers said they saw a child in the area that matched the description of the little one.
A man who raped a three-year-old girl after being briefly separated from her parents during a day on the Isle of Wight is sentenced to nine years in prison.
Graham Medway, 62, attacked the girl who was enjoying a sunny day with her family at https://t.co/YLSdyRBTBb pic.twitter.com/1bDECLOC6d
– London & UK Crime (@CrimeLdn) 8 January 2021
The dog walkers told police they saw the child walking out of some bushes while Medway was bending near him.
After locating the child, she immediately told her mother what had happened.
“That man put his will in my mouth,” the child said.
According to authorities, the child’s pants looked like she had wet herself.
Police found Medway later that evening and arrested him. Medway repeatedly denied touching the victim until investigators presented evidence that the child’s DNA was found on his boxers.
Judge Roger Hetherington told the parents during the court hearing Monday that the incident was not their fault before imposing a nine-year sentence on Medway, the Isle of Wright County Press reported.
“I have little doubt that you wandered around the park and were just waiting for this opportunity,” the judge said. “You pose a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm by committing further specified offenses.”
Meanwhile, the child’s mother told the court that her daughter’s behavior had changed drastically since the incident. The once confident and energetic child is now aggressive and tends to bite and hit her family and preschool friends.
“It breaks our hearts to think of the time we are going to tell our daughter about this terrible thing that happened to her,” the mother said.
An NSPCC spokesman said during the trial that the incident would have had a major impact on this child and her family.
Medway must serve at least two-thirds of his nine-year sentence before being eligible for parole.
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[Featured Photo: Graham Medway/Police Handout]