December 2020

Rapist was just 13 when he started abusing a child

A former RAF man who subjected two children to years of “disturbing and outrageous” sexual abuse has been jailed after he was found guilty of nine counts of rape of a child under 13

Ian Crawford’s two victims waited half a century for justice, but have now seen the rapist put behind bars for 20 years.

Crawford, 76, was just 13-years-old when he first raped a nine-year-old girl.

That campaign of abuse went on for years and only came to light decades later when the victim was in her 60s.

Crawford’s second victim was ten-years-old when the paedophile began sexually assaulting her.

He raped the child “repeatedly” over several years before leaving Trafford and never having contact with her again.

Crawford – who continues to deny all offences – was found guilty of nine separate counts of rape of a child at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court.

He was sentenced to six years in prison for the counts concerning victim one, to be served consecutively to 14 years for the counts involving victim two – totalling 20 years, with an extended license period of one year concurrent for each count.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard how Crawford, of Deeds Grove, High Wycombe, subjected both girls to years of sexual abuse.

His offending spanned several years between the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

His first victim was sexually abused by Crawford for years before he first raped her, when she was just nine-years-old and he was 13.

The victim described to the jury how the offending went on despite her extreme upset and visible distress, police say.

It was only when Crawford left Greater Manchester to join the RAF that the girl stopped being regularly raped by him.

When Crawford moved back to Trafford in the 1960s, he began sexually assaulting his second victim – then aged 10.

She was raped repeatedly over several years before Crawford left the area and never had any contact with her again.

Police became aware of Crawford’s offending in 2018, when the first victim heard a radio advert for a support programme for victims of sexual abuse called the ‘Truth Project’.

She disclosed her horrendous ordeals to the project and GMP launched an investigation.

Crawford was first interviewed in July 2018 and denied all allegations.

Later that summer the second victim came forward to speak of the traumatic experiences she had been subjected to by Crawford.

After she gave her account to detectives, Crawford was arrested once again.

He gave a no comment interview.

Crawford was charged in 2019 and denied all offences.

His case was delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

But he was found guilty on November 30 of nine counts of rape of a child under 13.