Operation Stovewood: Man jailed for raping and wounding vulnerable young girl in Rotherham

A man from Rotherham who raped, wounded and forced a vulnerable young girl to take part in sexually explicit videos has been jailed for 12 years.

David Fish, aged 46, of Kilnhurst in Rotherham first began grooming the girl in 2007, when she was around 15 years old and in care.

After approaching the girl and her friends at a local park, Fish, who was in his twenties at the time, exchanged numbers with her.

The young girl was infatuated with the much-older Fish, who often plied her with drugs and alcohol, going on to exploit her trust in him by coercing her into sex.

The victim recalled waking up to find Fish raping her and how he would turn violent towards her, on one occasion smashing a mug against her head with such force that she required stitches.

Officers from Operation Stovewood – the NCA’s investigation into historic allegations of sexual abuse in Rotherham, launched an investigation in 2018, after reviewing a report the victim had made to police.

The victim, by then in her 20s, agreed to talk to NCA officers. After investigators listened to the woman’s account, they identified corroborating evidence and arrested Fish in 2020.

The officers seized Fish’s computer and digital forensic specialists subsequently trawled through a huge quantity of files saved on it. They recovered graphic sexual images of the victim as a child, which Fish had taken and kept.

This evidence supported the victim’s testimony that Fish had filmed sexual videos of her – allegations which he had fervently denied.

He was sentenced today, 5 November, at Sheffield Crown Court for two counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography, one count of rape, and one count of unlawful wounding.

Jeanette Smith, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS, said: “The cruel campaign of abuse and violence the victim suffered at the hands of David Fish is appalling.

“Fish used gifts, drugs and alcohol to groom, coerce and manipulate a child into entering a relationship with him, all for his own sexual gratification.

“The way he used threats and violence to then control the victim and enforce his demands for sex was completely despicable.

“This kind of abuse can cause lifelong physical and emotional trauma, and I would like to thank the victim in this case for her courage in coming forward and talking to the police about what happened to her. I hope she can find some comfort in knowing that this offender has now been brought to justice.

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