Wisbech newsagent jailed for 1990s sex assaults on boy

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John LesterImage source, Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Image caption,

John Lester was jailed for six years at Peterborough Crown Court

A newsagent who sexually abused a boy after he groomed him with sweets and money has been jailed for six years.

John Lester, 71, was working at the shop in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, when he assaulted the victim on multiple occasions between 1993 and 1997.

He befriended the boy by giving him gifts including fireworks, sweets and cash, police said.

Det Sgt Louis Scott praised the victim's courage in reporting what happened 30 years later.

Lester, previously of Shrewsbury Avenue, Peterborough, drove the boy to remote areas on more than one occasion to carry out his sexual assaults, Cambridgeshire Constabulary said.

He pleaded guilty to two offences of indecently assaulting a boy under 16 and was jailed at Peterborough Crown Court.

'Courage'

The victim came forward in 2019 to tell police what had happened.

"Lester groomed the victim in this case by giving him gifts and money, before sexually assaulting him," Det Sgt Scott said.

"I'd like to commend the victim for his courage in reporting what happened to him. This case shows that time does not prevent us from bringing people to justice."

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