Pervert Gary Rockford jailed after abusing girl
Maidstone Crown Court,
where Rockford was sentenced
by Keith Hunt
A depraved paedophile who filmed himself sexually abusing a
young girl and distributed clips and pictures to others for payment
has been jailed for 10 years.
One pervert who received the film on a mobile phone from Gary
Rockford was a gangland killer serving a life sentence in
prison.
Rockford, of Sanspareil Avenue, Minster, wept as a judge told
him: “You repeatedly sexually abused her and exploited her for your
own gratification and to make money in the process.
“You filmed yourself on webcam as you abused her and you sold
the disgusting product of your depravity to other people, including
– and it gets no lower than this – a prisoner serving a sentence
for murder.
“It beggars belief that situation could arise in which that
occurred. The sordidness of a person sitting in a cell somewhere
looking at the girl being abused is something you should carry in
your mind for the rest of your life when you think about just how
gross your criminal offending has been.”
Rockford admitted three offences of sexual assault, two of
causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, two of
distributing indecent photographs of a child, one of possessing
them and one of taking them.
He was arrested in August 2011 after indecent images and videos
were found on the mobile phone at a Staffordshire prison.
"I am quite satisfied you have a deep-seated interest in sexual activity with under-age girls which needs to be addressed" – Judge Jeremy Carey
Alan Gardner,
prosecuting, said police traced the 29-year-old through a telephone
number and email address. He became tearful and told officers his
life was ruined.
The girl revealed Rockford had abused her several times. She
described him setting up a webcam and seeing other girls being
molested on his laptop computer.
He stripped naked and removed the girl’s lower clothes. He sat
her on his lap and made her simulate a sex act for the webcam. He
also touched her and performed a sex act on himself as others
watched.
Rockford typed in the words “watch this now” before molesting
the girl.
“She said the defendant assured her compliance by threatening to
‘hurt her bad’ if she did not do as he said,” Mr Gardner told
Maidstone Crown Court on Friday. “He bought her sweets.”
There were sex abuse images of other girls on the computer and
Rockford admitted distributing pictures to “dozens” of others.
He told police he started using internet chatrooms in 2008 and
realised he could make money from sexual images of children.
He agreed to send one image in exchange for a top-up of his
mobile phone and then received £25-30 a time. He copied some
pictures from internet sites.
Judge Jeremy Carey said Rockford would serve half the sentence
in custody and be on licence for the other half.
A sexual offences prevention order was imposed and he will be on
the sex offenders’ register for life.
He told Rockford, who sat in the dock sobbing throughout, that
the offences were “very serious indeed”.
“There is very little that can be said on your behalf to
mitigate what is a very serious position,” he continued.
The victim would never forget the gross abuse Rockford
perpetrated.
“She will never recover from the trauma of this repeated sexual
abuse,” said the judge. “It is impossible for a judge or anyone
else to measure this kind of offending of a child, but it is plain
that both in the short-term and probably long-term, that impact
will be considerable.
“I am quite satisfied you have a deep-seated interest in sexual
activity with under-age girls which needs to be addressed during
the substantial period you will be in custody and during the
substantial licence period that will follow.”
The offences were aggravated by the planned and persistent
nature over a substantial period and the fact it was done for
payment.
“That is the grossest exploitation,” said Judge Carey. “Finally,
there is the degree of coercion.”
He added: “It is said you are remorseful. I have no doubt at all
you now have recognition of just how appalling and wrong and grave
your offending is.
“Whether that is properly described as remorse, I simply cannot
judge. It is at least a starting point on the road to
rehabilitation.”
11/01/13
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