A Rotherham man who groomed, raped, wounded and forced a teenage girl to take part in sexually explicit videos has been jailed.

David Fish, aged 46, of Kilnhurst Road, Rotherham, began grooming the girl in 2007, when she was just 15-years-old and in care.

Fish, who was in his 20s at the time, approached the girl and her friends in a local park and exchanged numbers with her.

David Fish, aged 46, of Kilnhurst Road, Rotherham plied his victim with drugs and alcohol. | National Crime Agency

placeholder image — David Fish, aged 46, of Kilnhurst Road, Rotherham plied his victim with drugs and alcohol. | National Crime Agency

The victim was infatuated with the much-older Fish, who often plied her with drugs and alcohol, going on to exploit her trust in him by coercing her into sex. She recalled on one occasion waking up to Fish raping her.

She told officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) how Fish would turn violent. This included an incident when he smashed a mug against her head - because he believed she had been flirting with someone else - with such force she required stitches.

Officers from Operation Stovewood – the NCA’s investigation into historic allegations of sexual abuse in Rotherham – launched an investigation in 2018, after reviewing a report the victim had made to police.

The victim, by then in her 20s, agreed to talk to NCA officers. After investigators listened to the woman’s account, they identified corroborating evidence and arrested Fish in 2020.

When officers seized Fish’s computer and digital forensic specialists, they recovered graphic sexual images of the victim as a child, which Fish had taken and kept.

This evidence supported the victim’s testimony that Fish had filmed sexual videos of her – allegations which he had fervently denied.

Steve Palmer, the NCA officer on the case, said: “Fish has faced justice 17 years after targeting, manipulating and abusing a vulnerable young girl, thanks to the courage of the victim and the hard work of National Crime Agency investigators.

“Investigators listened to the victim’s account and subsequently identified corroborating evidence. Though the victim will always live with what Fish did, I hope his sentencing will bring her a measure of peace and allow her to move forward.”

“It’s never too late to report child sexual abuse, so I encourage victims to report to police what happened to them.”

Fish pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child on February 15, 2024. After a trial, he was found guilty on September 26, 2024, of one count of causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography, one count of rape, and one count of unlawful wounding.

He was found not guilty on two counts of rape on the same day.

Today (November 5, 2024), Fish was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Sheffield Crown Court.

Jeanette Smith, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS, said: “The cruel campaign of abuse and violence the victim suffered at the hands of David Fish is appalling.

“Fish used gifts, drugs and alcohol to groom, coerce and manipulate a child into entering a relationship with him, all for his own sexual gratification.

“The way he used threats and violence to then control the victim and enforce his demands for sex was completely despicable.

“This kind of abuse can cause lifelong physical and emotional trauma, and I would like to thank the victim in this case for her courage in coming forward and talking to the police about what happened to her. I hope she can find some comfort in knowing that this offender has now been brought to justice.”

Adults can report sexual abuse suffered as a child by calling police on 101, or reporting it in person at a police station. Specially trained officers are ready to help victims.