Sex offender from Carlton Colville jailed for nine years
The 71 year old spent 19 days on the run from court
A sex offender who fled from court while the jury deliberated has been jailed.
71 year old Paul Ashworth from Carlton Colville appeared before Ipswich Crown Court on Friday 4 April, where he was sentenced to nine years in prison, with an additional year on licence.
Ashworth, of Wannock Close, was found guilty in his absence on Friday 7 February of three counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14-years-old. These involved three separate victims aged between 4 years-old and 11-years-old, and happened between the early 1980s and early 2000s.
He had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of children. Additionally, he also pleaded guilty to absconding from court while on bail.
Ashworth – who was not on remand during his trial – left the court when the jury retired to consider its verdicts on 7 February and failed to return in the afternoon when the verdicts were delivered.
The court issued a warrant for his arrest and Suffolk Police began to search for him.
Ashworth was found at a hotel in Portsmouth in Hampshire and arrested on the 26th of February.
“The crimes he committed were unspeakably abhorrent and robbed the victims of their childhoods. I want to pay tribute to the victims for their bravery in working with us to achieve these convictions.
“Ashworth will now spend a considerable portion of his 70s in prison, which I hope will be of some comfort to the victims and enable them to rebuild their lives.”