Man abused child and raped victim in adulthood

The court heard Sharp sexually abused the victim when she was a teenager and raped her as an adult

A man from North Devon has been jailed for 19 years after being convicted of serious sexual offences against a vulnerable victim.

Lee Sharp, 42, was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on Monday, where the judge also sentenced him to six years on extended license and granted a restraining order.

Sharp, of Easterly Terrace, Sticklepath, stood trial in August where he pleaded not guilty to sexual activity with a child, coercive and controlling behaviour and rape.

The jury found him guilty on all counts, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

The force said the court heard Sharp sexually abused the victim when she was a teenager, knowing she was under the age of consent, and had told her to keep quiet about what had happened.

It said he also raped her as an adult, being physically and emotionally abusive, including physically restraining her and spitting in her face.

He also repeatedly referred to her as things such as "scum of the earth" and told her: "Nobody would want you," police said.

Sharp was summonsed to court in 2022 and denied the offences throughout the legal process.

Investigating officer Sgt Tina Dalton, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said the victim deserved the "utmost praise" for her courage to bring the "offender to justice".

Sgt Dalton said: "Sharp abused her repeatedly and behaved in an abhorrent way.

"I hope that the outcome will give others, who may have been victims of these types of crimes, the confidence to come forward and report it."