Keith Alan Fairbrother

A Bexhill man has been jailed for 18 years following his conviction for a series of historic child sex offences committed in the early 2000s. Keith Alan Fairbrother, 59, of Glovers Lane, Bexhill, was found guilty after a two-week trial at Chichester Crown Court. The offences took place over a five-year period when Fairbrother was in his forties, targeting a girl who was in her early teens at the time.

Fairbrother was convicted on 6 April 2022 of four offences of rape and three offences of sexual assault by penetration. He had gained the confidence of the victim's family, enabling him to exploit the young girl for his own sexual gratification. The case was investigated by the East Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit of Sussex Police.

Detective Constable Ella Bigsby, who led the investigation, praised the victim's courage in coming forward. She stated: 'He had come to know the victim's family and gained her confidence over a period of time, enabling him to exploit her for his own sexual gratification. His victim showed great courage in contacting us, supporting the investigation and giving evidence in court, resulting in his conviction and the removal from the streets of an opportunist but predatory sex offender.' DC Bigsby also highlighted the importance of achieving justice for historical sexual offences, noting: 'This is another example of the way in which justice can be achieved for victims of sexual offences, no matter when the offending took place.'

The victim herself expressed gratitude to those involved in the case, saying: 'In coming forward to the police I finally did what adults around me should have done all those years ago, and became the person I needed when younger. Thank you to everyone who was involved in the case, with a special thank you to DC Ella Bigsby for being my strength, barrister Jennifer Gray for being my voice, and the jury.' Fairbrother was sentenced on 9 May 2022 at Chichester Crown Court, bringing a long-overdue sense of justice to the victim after the abuse that occurred more than two decades ago.

The case was reported by Jo Symes and published on 24 May 2022 via Greatest Hits Radio Sussex news, drawing attention to the ongoing work of Sussex Police in tackling child sex offences.