James Southwell

A former police officer has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for a series of horrific child sex offences spanning nearly two decades. James Southwell, 68, who once served with Greater Manchester Police, was found guilty at Manchester Crown Court of multiple counts of rape, indecent assault, attempted rape, and procuring an abortion on a minor.

The court heard that Southwell carried out sexual assaults on seven girls and one boy, many of whom were of primary school age, during the 1970s and 1980s. He often invited the children to spend the night at his home in Eccles, Salford, where the prolonged abuse took place. One victim, now a 35-year-old woman, testified that the attacks began when she was just six or seven years old and continued until she was 18. Southwell, who had been an officer in the 1960s, also regularly beat the children as part of his depraved actions.

Southwell admitted to two charges of rape but denied 34 other counts, including indecent assaults and attempted rapes. However, the jury convicted him on all charges following a detailed trial. Additionally, he was found guilty of using an instrument to terminate the pregnancy of a 17-year-old girl, an act he had also denied.

Sentencing Southwell, the judge described how he had used the children to satisfy his 'depraved and perverted' lust. The judge ordered Southwell to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life. The case, reported by BBC News on 20 March 2002, highlights the betrayal of trust by a former law enforcement officer who preyed on vulnerable young victims in his community.