Brothers jailed for child sex abuse

Two brothers who carried out sex attacks on five children were both jailed today.

Kevin Begley, 39, and Kenneth Begley, 33, committed the degrading offences over a 16-year period, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Elder brother Kevin was likened by a judge to a "medieval tyrant" for the way he abused his victims - threatening them with retribution if they did not comply or told anyone.

Kenneth - described in court as being of low IQ - was said to have been under the spell of his brother.

The court heard that the offences were committed in the Swindon area of Wiltshire between 1991 and 2007.

Judge Simon Darwell-Smith jailed Kevin Begley for 18 years and his brother for five-and-a-half years.

He told Kevin Begley that he had refused to accept his guilt and said the impact of his crimes was plain to see.

"The jury convicted you of no less than 30 counts relating to the sexual and cruel acts against five children," the judge said.

"You are still in denial about each and every one of them.

"You gave yourself a position which can only be described as a medieval tyrant. If they refused you, you administered corporal punishment.

"You threatened the children with very severe consequences if they ever brought your offending to light.

"The consequences of your behaviour towards them was perfectly demonstrated by all five children when they gave evidence in front of the jury.

"They all spoke of their loss of self-esteem."

The judge said that had the most serious offences taken place after the introduction of the "dangerous offender" provisions of the 2003 Criminal Justice Act, he would have jailed Kevin Begley indefinitely.

"Had the most serious offences occurred after that date I would have had no hesitation in concluding that there is a significant risk to members of the public from you committing serious further specified offences and I would have imposed an indeterminate sentence for public protection," the judge said.

"You will serve a maximum of two-thirds of that sentence less the 412 days you have served on remand and curfew.

"Once you are released you will be released on licence for the remainder of the sentence and I must tell you that if you fail to adhere to the conditions of parole or commit other offences you will be returned to prison to serve the remainder of your sentence."

Judge Darwell-Smith told Kenneth Begley he had abused a position of trust by committing his offences while babysitting.

The brothers were both placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life and made subject of indefinite Sexual Offenders Prevention Orders banning them from contact with children.

The brothers went on trial at Bristol Crown Court in June where Kevin Begley faced 40 charges and his brother eight charges.

A jury convicted Kevin Begley of 37 charges - 12 indecent assaults, seven of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, six rapes, five charges of child cruelty against a person under 16, five charges of indecency with a child under 14, one charge of causing or inciting sexual activity with a child under 13 and one sexual assault of a child under 13.

After a four-week trial, Kevin Begley, of Toothill, Swindon, was acquitted of one charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The jury could not reach verdicts on two charges of rape and they were ordered to lie on file.

His brother, also of Swindon, was convicted of two charges of indecency with a child under 14 and one indecent assault.

The jury was undecided on two indecent assault charges and three charges of indecency with a child, which were also ordered to lie on file.

Prosecutor Rosie Collins said all the children - some as young as six - had been deeply affected by what they had suffered at the hands of the duo.

"The harrowing manner of the allegations and devastation it caused to the witnesses was fairly blindingly obvious and it would be difficult not to be moved by the manner in which they gave their evidence," she said.

Miss Collins said three of the children had prepared statements detailing their ordeals, which had taken place in the Swindon area of Wiltshire.

"They talk about a ruined childhood which has affected their lives and will continue to affect them evermore," she said.

"One of the children lives in constant fear of these defendants, so much so they won't set foot in Swindon and have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder."

Alun Jenkins QC, for Kevin Begley, asked the judge not to impose an indefinite sentence and said the public could be protected from him upon release from prison.

"In effect he will be controlled in the future by the Sexual Offences Prevention Order," Mr Jenkins said.

Jonathan Simpson, for Kenneth Begley, said during his client's own childhood he had been "corrupted by a corrosive and revolting existence".

"Kenneth Begley is a wholly different creature to Kevin Begley," Mr Simpson said.

"To some extent he was a puppet of those far more aware of what was going on."

Detective Constable Nicola Collis-Smith, who led the investigation, praised the victims for their bravery in coming forward.

"The crimes committed by these two men were nothing short of monstrous," the Wiltshire Police officer said.

"The abuse of their victims over a sustained period of time has had and will continue to have a devastating and lifelong affect on those individuals.

"We are tremendously proud of the way they have conducted themselves throughout this investigation and will continue to offer them as much support as possible.

"As a force we take all reports of sexual abuse extremely seriously and we have teams of specialist officers who are trained to deal with all sexual offences against both children and adults.

"We have seen successful prosecutions in relation to historical offences so even if a long time had passed, please contact us.

"People can be certain that any information we receive will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence and anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse or suspects that people are being abused should contact the police or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, where information can be left anonymously if preferred.

"If people don't want to tell the police they could tell a trusted friend, their GP or contact the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) which is open 24 hours a day on 0808 168 0024."

PA