Sheffield Crown Court: 'Evil' man found guilty of indecently assaulting girl, 11, handed suspended sentence

An ‘evil’ sex offender who indecently assaulted an 11-year-old girl has walked away from Sheffield Crown Court with a suspended sentence. 

The girl Barrie English assaulted may have waited more than 17 years, but during a hearing held on November 7, 2023, English was finally brought before a sentencing judge for his crime. 

In a statement to the court, English’s victim, now a woman, described how when she finally went to the police in 2020, having to relive the ordeal was the ‘hardest thing I’ve done in 20 years’. 

The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she spent her early adult years ‘trying to process what had happened’ to her, spending the intervening years ‘blaming herself’. 

She said English’s actions have not only had a corrosive impact on her life, but they also continue to affect her children too because their ‘mummy is broken’. 

At the time English indecently assaulted her in Rotherham in 1996, the complainant was 11-years-old, and she also describes herself as being a ‘vulnerable’ child. 

She described English as an ‘evil man’ who ‘did what he wanted for his own gratification’. 

Prosecuting barrister, Nicola Quinney, told the court that English, now aged 74, was found guilty of the offence, following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court. 

Jurors also acquitted English, who had a clean criminal record prior to this offence, of a number of other sex offences relating to the same complainant, the court heard. 

The judge, Recorder Shamim Qureshi, outlined the mitigating factors in English’s case, which include the fact English has not committed any further offences since he indecently assaulted the complainant in 1996.

Recorder Qureshi said English was also the ‘primary carer’ for his wife who suffers from dementia, and his incarceration would ‘lead to drastic consequences’ for her. 

He sentenced English, of Cedar Avenue, Stoke-on-Trent, to two years in custody, suspended for two years, and made him the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, which will remain in place until further order of the court. 

Recorder Qureshi told English he will remain on the sex offenders’ register for the next 10 years, and he will also have to complete a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement. 

*Sheffield Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (SRASAC) is a specialist service offering free and confidential support to anyone who has experienced rape or sexual abuse at any time in their life. To self refer to get the support you may need, please go to their website at: https://www.srasac.org.uk/

You can also email them at [email protected] or call their information and Support line on 07517 100 757, which is available Monday – Friday between 9am-5pm.