Jed Denton, a 29-year-old man from Oxford, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court for sexually abusing a teenage boy in December 2021. The incident began when Denton offered to take the victim and a friend for a drive in September, during which he provided them with alcohol including Courvoisier brandy and Strongbow cider, bought chips, smoked cannabis with them, and made disturbing comments about wanting to tie the boy to a tree and something about rape.
On the night of the assault in December 2021, Denton again took the boys out, but after dropping off the friend, he drove off with the victim alone in his hired Toyota Hilux pick-up, which he had rented under an alias despite being banned from driving. The victim described feeling scared and repeatedly asked Denton where they were going, but received no reply as they travelled down dark country lanes. Denton parked the vehicle, turned off the headlights, and forced the boy into the space between the front seats, where he carried out a sexual assault lasting several minutes.
The boy managed to escape by claiming he needed to urinate, fleeing across fields in the dead of night to bang on a stranger's window in Noke, informing the occupants that he had just been molested. Prosecutor Rebecca Foulkes detailed these events at the court hearing on 30 January 2023, noting that Denton had groomed the boy prior to the assault.
Denton was arrested and questioned multiple times, denying the assault each time. Forensic evidence revealed his saliva on the boy's underwear, which Denton absurdly claimed resulted from his habit of spitting into bottles, with his defence suggesting the victim had planted it as part of a blackmail attempt. The victim was cross-examined via a video-recorded hearing the previous year.
Judge Ian Pringle KC, sentencing Denton to eight years and 11 months in prison, remarked: 'It is difficult to imagine the terror that must have been going through the young boy’s mind.' The sentence included a lifetime restraining order against contacting the victim, a lifetime sexual harm prevention order, a five-year driving disqualification, and lifelong registration on the sex offenders' register. Although Denton pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment, the judge noted an element of abduction in the offending. Denton had 45 prior convictions, including 10 for driving whilst disqualified.
In a victim impact statement, the boy's mother expressed profound shock, stating: 'Never would I imagine that my son would be the victim of such a horrendous crime.' She praised her son's courage in pursuing justice, adding: 'What child can go through hell but still wants to do what is right?' and hoped the sentence would prevent further harm.
Denton pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child, driving whilst disqualified, and possession of cannabis. The case was reported by the Oxford Mail and involved Thames Valley Police.