Martin Smith found guilty of serious sexual abuse of a child

15/12/2010

Martin Smith was found guilty of abusing a young girl over a ten year period after a trial at Manchester Crown Court. The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict - he was found guilty of three counts of rape, three counts of attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one count of indecency with a child.

Linda Vance, District Crown Prosecutor for Cumbria CPS, said:

"The prosecution of Martin Smith has taken place at the same time as investigations and proceedings in Spain around the tragic circumstances of the deaths of his children. As the judge made clear at the beginning of this trial, Martin Smith is not linked to their deaths and this prosecution has dealt solely with the charges of serious sexual offences against him.

"Martin Smith subjected the victim in this case to systematic and serious sexual abuse throughout a significant part of her childhood. For over ten years from when she was seven years old she was abused regularly. By the time she was a teenager the assaults had escalated in seriousness to rape.

"The defendant groomed his victim, abused the power that he had as an adult and exerted control over her through fear. She has shown courage in coming forward and giving evidence against him now, and today the jury have found him guilty of all the charges. I hope that as a result she is now able to continue to move on positively with her life.

"Rape and sexual assault have a devastating impact on victims. For many reasons it is often very difficult for them to report these offences, especially when the victim is a child.

"I can assure anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse that we do take all allegations that are referred to us by the police very seriously, even if the abuse happened some time ago. Where there is evidence to do so we will bring those cases before the courts. The Crown Prosecution Service has specialist rape prosecutors who have expertise in dealing with sexual offences cases and we work with the police and the courts to ensure that victims are given the best possible support throughout the progress of the case."

ENDS