Robert Court

Robert Court, aged 33, was jailed for six years at Preston Crown Court on 10 December 2025 after being found guilty of multiple child sexual offences committed between 2011 and 2013. At the time of the offences, Court was in his early 20s and used the alias 'Gyles'. He targeted two vulnerable boys, aged between 12 and 14, subjecting them to sexual abuse primarily inside a caravan in Earby, Lancashire.

The offences included rape, causing or inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity, sexual assault, and engaging in sexual activity with a child. Court was charged following reports from the victims and a subsequent investigation by Lancashire Constabulary. He was arrested, initially denying knowledge of the victims, but later admitted knowing them while denying wrongdoing. After a trial earlier in 2025, he was convicted on seven counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child and two counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

One incident involved Court taking one of the victims to his home for further abuse. The first victim reported the crimes in March 2021, prompting police to contact the second victim, who corroborated the details. In court impact statements, the first victim described the long-term effects, stating: 'I finally gathered the strength to report this to the police in 2021. I reported it then because I finally realised that this was abuse, and not what I had been led to believe all along that it was experimental. It wasn’t experimental, I was a child, it was child abuse.' He further explained the emotional toll: 'From the last incident in his bedroom, the effects on me were slow burning. I felt emotions hard to show and struggle to trust people.'

The second victim shared: 'Following the abuse I felt shame and embarrassment. It played on my mind every single hour of every day and contributed hugely to the significant mental health problems that I have suffered my whole life.' Detective Sergeant Keziah Harrison from Lancashire Constabulary's East Child Protection Team commented: 'Court is a manipulative individual who targeted two vulnerable and impressionable boys for his warped sexual interests. His offending has had a significant impact on his victims which continues to impact on their daily lives.' Court, formerly of Newton Street in Darwen and now of no fixed address, was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.