Shane Moore

Shane Moore, aged 40 from Mill Lane, Cressing, Braintree, was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Ipswich Crown Court for multiple counts of sexual abuse against a child. The offences occurred between May 2003 and September 2007 in the Ipswich area, when Moore was between 17 and 22 years old and the victim was aged seven to 11.

The court heard that Moore had molested the girl on numerous occasions, dragging her by her hair or carrying her to a bedroom where he would abuse her. He also forced her to pose for naked photographs. The abuse came to light when the victim's father discovered the images, to his horror, and his daughter confirmed that Moore had taken them. Prosecutor Joanne Eley detailed these harrowing events during the trial.

On the day of sentencing, the now-adult victim delivered a powerful personal statement to the court. 'Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve heard about the worst things that have happened to me during my life,' she said. 'I am grateful for no longer being silenced, and finally giving a voice to the child that I was.' She described Moore as a 'monster' and expressed how the trauma continues to affect her, causing nightmares, flashbacks, and a compulsion to scrub her skin to feel clean. Addressing Moore directly, she stated: 'I was a child. I was so small. You were so big. Your sentence will end one day. Mine never will. Within the four walls of your cell, I want you to think of me every day as the grown woman who stood up for the child I was.'

Judge Nicola Talbot-Hadley presided over the case and sentenced Moore for five counts of sexual abuse against the same victim. Despite Moore protesting his innocence, the judge imposed the 12-year custodial sentence and an indefinite ban on him contacting the victim or her family. 'You have given [the victim] a life sentence of pain,' the judge told him. 'It is you rather than she who should feel ashamed now.' The case was reported by the Ipswich Star, with coverage highlighting the victim's courage in confronting her abuser in court.