Child rapist jailed after phone messages recovered

Whalley's offending took place several years ago

A child rapist has been jailed for 20 years after recovered phone messages exposed his offending.

Lee Whalley, now 62, was arrested in 2017 after his victim reported him to police several years after she was abused.

He denied having any sexual contact with the girl but was convicted by a jury with the help of the incriminating messages.

Whalley, of HIllsway Crescent, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, was handed a 20-year sentence at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday after being found guilty of multiple counts of rape and sexual assault of a girl under 13.

Whalley was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday

Nottinghamshire Police said the backed up phone messages were discovered on Whalley's computer during the investigation.

The messages – sent when the victim was an adult – referenced sexual activity between the two and exposed his previous lies to officers.

Also recovered from his home were several items of clothing containing his victim’s DNA.

In addition to his prison sentence, Whalley was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, which will tightly restrict his activities upon his release.

Det Sgt Lloyd Goucher said: "Like many victims of childhood sexual assault, the woman at the heart of this case was reluctant to come forward and tell us about what had happened to her all those years before.

“Unsurprisingly, this abuse has already had a profound impact on her life, and she was concerned that a criminal trial would add to the trauma she had already suffered.

“It is thanks, then, to her courage and determination that we were able to build such a compelling case against her abuser, and expose his initial account for the fiction it was.

“Whalley groomed and sexually assaulted her over a number of years and will now spend much of the rest of his life in prison."