Beccles man David King jailed for child sex crimes in the 1990s

A man from Beccles has been jailed for child sex crimes from three decades ago.

David King, of Old Farm Road, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday.

King was convicted on two counts of indecent assault on a young girl plus one count of indecency with a child, relating to crimes which took place in the mid 1990s.

He was cleared of a further three counts of indecent assault.

An investigation into King was launched in May 2020.

He was charged in July 2021, the court was told.

In the wake of King’s conviction, Detective Constable Samuel Jones, of Suffolk Police’s Safeguarding Investigation Unit, paid tribute to the victim for being courageous enough to come forward.

“No sentence will ever take away the trauma the victim suffered and the distressing experience to endure a trial and listen to evidence, but I hope today’s sentencing can serve as the first step towards the closure they deserve,” he said.

“Investigations of this nature can be lengthy and require real resilience to see through.”

However, he said the case was also testament to the ongoing efforts by police to bring criminals to justice.

He vowed that those who seek to exploit children would be brought to justice.

“I would urge victims of any serious violent or sexual offence to come forward to the police, we have specially trained officers who will treat you with sensitivity and compassion,” Mr Jones added.