Child rapist from Harrogate jailed over abuse of girl under 13

The victim of a child rapist only learned that his abuse was wrong after she was taught about human biology in school, police said.

Darren Briggs, 43, was convicted of two counts of rape of a child aged under 13 and one of sexual assault following a trial.

North Yorkshire Police said she reported the offences in 2021 "after learning about the human body in school".

Briggs, from Harrogate, was arrested a short time later. In a statement, the girl spoke about the impact of his crimes. She said: "I no longer feel good about myself, do not like the way I look, or feel nice in anything I wear.

"I feel different, cannot explain to my friends why I do not want to be around them, or why I cry without anything being said to me."I just want to feel happy about myself, and my family to be happy, but it will not be because everything has changed. I have changed since this terrible ordeal, and I feel that I will never be the same person again."The victim’s mother said she could not sleep at night and felt like she "missed everything".

She said: "This is a living nightmare that I will deal with for the rest of my life."Briggs was jailed for 16 years, with a two-year extended licence period, and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

Det Con Rebecca Prentice, who led the investigation, said: “The victim in this case has showed immense strength and bravery at such a young age, not only in reporting the horrific abuse she endured but to seeing through the lengthy investigation and court case.“I commend her dignity, tenacity and determination in coming forward and thank her for helping to bring her perpetrator to justice."

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