Accrington sex offender sentenced to 14 years in prison
Joshua Adcroft had groomed and sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl
An Accrington man has sentenced to 14 years in prison after he groomed and sexually assault an 11-year-old girl.
Joshua Adcroft, who also used the alias Joshua Everitt, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, soliciting indecent images of children; and 11 breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Investigations from Lancashire Police found that Joshua, who had been working as a football stadium announcer, had groomed the victim before sexually assaulting her.
A victim impact statement said that Adcroft had threatened her if she told anyone what he had done to her.
"I felt empty inside when Josh first touched me. I felt overwhelmed and helpless. I now feel frustrated. I’m annoyed that I was too scared to tell anyone and feel that I let him do it," the victim said.
“Previously Josh’s threats stopped me from telling people and reporting to the police as I was worried that he would carry them out. I isolated myself due to this. I was unable to tell anyone.
"He took away my ability to speak. However, after a period of time, I had the mindset of that not being my problem, and I was so relieved when I told my family."
At the time of the incident, Adcroft was already a registered sex offender but had kept his contact with the girl a secret from the authorities.
However, the offence would surface in April 2024, with Adcroft being arrested by the British Transport Police as he returned from a work trip.
Adcroft's home was searched following the arrest and his two laptops were seized, where indecent images of an eight-year-old girl from Essex were found, liaising with the girl's mother on what he wanted through chat logs.
Other hidden devices were later found, revealing another 53 indecent images of children.
Speaking on the ruling, Detective Constable Laura Fahey from Lancashire Police said: "Adcroft is a manipulative individual who takes an unhealthy interest in young girls for his own perverted sexual interests.
“In contrast, the victim highlighted above has shown incredible courage in coming forward and speaking out about what Adcroft had done to her, despite his threats. His behaviour has clearly had a profound impact on her, as highlighted by her statement to the court.
“I welcome the sentence handed down to Adcroft. He is an extremely dangerous sexual offender who is now off the streets and away from children."