Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Friday, 24th January 2025, at 17:15hrs
He was also handed a lifetime sexual harm prevention order and restraining order against his victims
A Sheffield man who repeatedly raped a child and possessed the most serious category of child pornography, has been jailed for his sickening crimes.
Kevin Cox, 29, of Mowbray Street, Sheffield, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday (20 January), where he was sentenced for five counts of rape of a 15-year-old child, two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, and three counts of making indecent photographs/ pseudo-photographs of a child.
In a statement released after sentencing, South Yorkshire Police said:
“In May 2019, Cox was handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) after being convicted of possession of indecent images and voyeurism.
On 25 January 2023 ViSOR officers attended Cox’s address and checked his devices as part of his management as a high-risk sex offender.
In total, 39 indecent images of children were found on his device, more than half of which were Category A, the most explicit category.
Officers also discovered online communications between Cox and a 14-year-old girl, in which Cox had sent sexually explicit messages and images.
Further checks of his devices revealed a conversation between Cox and another girl in which she alleged he had raped her on several occasions between December 2017 and December 2018 when she was 15 years old.
Officers spoke to the girl who said that Cox had added her on social media and that they had arranged to meet in person, at which point Cox raped her.
Cox then used explicit photos which he had coerced her into sending him to pressure her into meeting him again, and he raped her on two further occasions.
On 15 March 2023 and 9 April 2024, Cox was interviewed in relation to the messages he exchanged with the 14-year-old victim. On both occasions he gave no comment to all questions.
He was interviewed on 26 April 2023 regarding the allegations of rape – he claimed that he had had consensual sex with the 15-year-old victim and that he had believed she was 16.
Cox initially pleaded not-guilty to the counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, but changed his plea to guilty on 26 September 2024.
The following day he also changed his plea on the counts of making indecent photographs/ pseudo-photographs of a child from not-guilty to guilty.
Cox maintained a not-guilty plea on the five counts of rape, but a jury saw through his lies and he was found guilty of all counts following a three-day trial at Sheffield Crown Court on 21 November 2024.
On 20 January, Cox was jailed to a total of 14 years in prison for his horrific crimes, and given a lifetime SHPO and a lifetime restraining order against the victim who he had raped.
DC Amy Shore, of the Protecting Vulnerable People Team, said: “Cox is a depraved sex offender who caused untold pain for his victims, and I am thankful that he will spend more than a decade behind bars for his string of crimes.
“His lifetime SHPO ensures that officers can continue to monitor his online behaviour when he is released, and the restraining order provides further protection for the victim to whom he caused so much harm.
“I would like to pay tribute to the strength and bravery of Cox’s victims in providing evidence of his abuse, and I hope that this lengthy sentence provides them with a sense of closure.
“Although no sentence could ever undo the pain that Cox has inflicted, I hope these two women are able to move on with their lives”.
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