Leeds man handed 12 year prison term for child sexual offences
The 65 year old targeted three girls between the ages of 9 and 16
Last updated 3rd Jul 2025
A Leeds man is starting a 12 year prison sentence for the sexual abuse of three young girls over a period of around two decades.
65 year old Sydney Burdon, of Throstle Hill, was charged with nine offences against victims aged between 9 and 16 years old.
He was arrested in 2021 after two victims initially came forward to police, with a third coming forward while investigations were ongoing.
Burdon continued to deny the offences despite being presented with forensic evidence to the contrary.
He was found guilty of all nine offences following a trial at Leeds Crown Court, where he was sentenced earlier.
He will also be ordered to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely and given a 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
In a victim impact statement, one of the women affected wrote: “There are no words to accurately explain to you how this has changed my life."
I was only 15 years old, just an innocent child, I was happy go lucky. The defendant took all that away from me, I feel that the light within me is now non-existent.
“The defendant used the power of manipulation to hurt and betray me and caused me to have to grow up before my time, I feel as though I have been robbed of a normal childhood. The defendant should feel ashamed of what he has done and I am so thankful that speaking up has helped people to see him for the true monster that he is.
“It scares me how Sydney Burdon has gotten away with it all these years and how smug he was convincing those around him that he had done nothing wrong. When I knew the truth I knew what he was and I knew what he was doing to young girls.
“What also scares me is, if he would have continued to get away with this, how many other young girls he would target and how many lives he would have continued to affect later on in life.
“Sydney Burdon has never shown any remorse for what he has done and doesn’t want to admit he has done something wrong. This to me means he doesn’t see anything wrong with what he was doing and would have taken it further.”