Cornwall cricket coach used his position to abuse teenagers for seven years

A cricket coach from Cornwall has been jailed for seven years after being convicted of assaulting two teenagers in the 1980s.

David Taylor, 62, was convicted of 10 separate indecent assaults. He had previously been jailed for other offences against a number of other victims.

During Taylor's trial, the court heard evidence from one victim, describing the fear of having to constantly protect herself from a "sexual predator" throughout her teenage years.

The court heard how the victims in the most recent case came forward after seeing media coverage in two previous trials.

Taylor, of Higher Fraddon, was sentenced at Truro Crown Court on Friday 3 January after guilty verdicts were recorded in a third trial.

In an impact statement read to the court, one victim said Taylor’s offending has "consumed her thoughts and life", and still does to this day.

Taylor had been previously convicted in 2021 for touching a woman and a teenager without consent.

Media coverage of that trial resulted in more victims coming forward and a second trial took place in August 2023. As a result, Taylor was sent to jail for 21 months after being found guilty of sexual offences against three more women.

The court heard at the time that Taylor, who had previously been a well-known cricket coach in the Truro area, had used his position to abuse female players.

Detective Constable Hannah Milburn, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “I would like to pay testimony to the bravery of the victims in this case, in not only reporting the incidents but supporting the lengthy and complex investigation that followed. I hope that the result will offer them some comfort and closure as they look to move forward with their lives.

“All sexual offences are taken seriously by the police, regardless as to whether they occurred recently or many decades ago. Offenders will be investigated as thoroughly as possible in order for them to be held accountable for their crimes.”