Laurence Gladwin, a 43-year-old man from Withernsea, East Yorkshire, exploited his position of trust to groom and sexually abuse two teenage girls over an 18-month period. What began as seemingly innocent 'friendly banter' quickly progressed to explicit messaging, meetings in secluded locations, and repeated sexual offences. Gladwin admitted to seven counts of sexual activity with a girl while in a position of trust and four counts of making indecent images of children at Hull Crown Court.
The court heard from prosecutor Robert Stevenson that Gladwin initiated contact with the first girl through casual conversation, which soon escalated to frequent messages and invitations to meet. He drove her to a secluded area in a public car park, where he kissed her, intimately touched her, and coerced her into performing a sex act on him. The girl described feeling 'out of her depth' and 'pressured' into the behaviour, later refusing his suggestion to go to a hotel, which ended their encounters. Police seized Gladwin's phone after the girl came forward, uncovering evidence of similar offences against a second girl, as well as 12 indecent images of the first girl, 81 of the second, and 134 images of unknown girls.
With the second girl, the grooming followed a similar pattern: banter led to messages, then a rapid escalation to physical meetings. Gladwin picked her up in his car for full sexual intercourse on one occasion and again at his home when his wife and children were absent. He professed love to her, which she initially reciprocated, but she later recognised the 'significant power imbalance' due to his age and position. The girl described freezing during the incidents, feeling scared and fearing him because of his greater power, though no threats or force were used. She sent nude pictures to him, and he reciprocated by sending a video of himself committing a sex act.
The victims provided impact statements detailing the lasting harm. The first girl spoke of carrying a 'burden' that led to a lack of trust, emotional damage, sleepless nights, flashbacks, and periods of not eating, feeling exploited in her vulnerability. The second girl felt 'used and taken advantage of', struggling to trust others and haunted by 'very bad memories' of the events. Judge Kate Rayfield remarked, 'You plainly have a sexual interest in teenage girls,' noting Gladwin's grooming behaviour and retention of sexual images of his victims. Despite his early guilty plea and expressions of remorse, the judge highlighted his selfish post-arrest phone call to one victim, urging her not to speak to police, as undermining genuine regret.
Mitigating, Nigel Clive argued that Gladwin 'thoroughly regretted' his actions, had no prior convictions, and had shown remorse by pleading guilty early. As a father of two, Gladwin's marriage ended following the offences, leading to self-destructive choices, but Clive emphasised he accepted punishment and would not reoffend. The court, reported by Hull Live on 22 November 2023, sentenced Gladwin to six years in prison, imposed a sexual harm prevention order for life, and required lifelong registration as a sex offender.