Gravesend man jailed for decade-long sex abuse
Thomas Hawkwood was jailed for 14 years
At a glance
Thomas Hawkwood from Gravesend committed the offences over the course of nearly a decade
He was convicted of eight offences and jailed for 14 years
Police described Hawkwood as "depraved and intimidating"
- Published
A man has been jailed for 14 years for sexually abusing a child over nearly a decade.
Thomas Hawkwood, 69 and from Meopham, near Gravesend, Kent, also subjected his victim to physical assaults and threats.
He was jailed at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday, after being convicted of eight charges, including rape, assault, indecent assault and inciting gross indecency.
An indefinite sexual harm prevention order was also imposed on him.
Hawkwood was arrested in November 2020 and charged with offences stretching back to the 1990s, all against a girl aged between 13 and 15.
'Depraved and intimidating'
The case was led by the Medway Vulnerability Investigation Team.
Investigator Luke Grimmett said: "Hawkwood is a depraved and intimidating individual who has shown no remorse for his appalling actions.
"He terrorised a vulnerable child with threats of violence and subjected them to the most abhorrent abuse.
"Offenders like Hawkwood wreak incalculable damage upon their victims and it is sometimes extremely hard for them to come forward and report what they have experienced to the police.
"In this case, the victim has thankfully found tremendous courage to provide evidence and ensure Hawkwood has now faced justice."
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