A man from Oxford has today, Thursday, 10 March, been sentenced to 13 years in jail after being found guilty of four counts of serious child sex offences

Henry Herbert Lenton, aged 36, from Barton Village Road in Oxford has been jailed for 13 years after being convicted of the following offences:

• 1 count of raping a child under 13
• 2 counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity
• 1 count of sexual assault of a child under 13

The charges relate to offences that took place against one child between January 2019 and January 2021 in Bordon.

Lenton denied the charges but following a four day trial at Winchester Crown Court in February, he was found guilty of all four counts.

Appearing at Winchester Crown Court today (Thursday, 10 March) Lenton was jailed for 13 years with a one year extended licence period.

In addition to his custodial sentence, Lenton will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Following the sentence, Detective Constable James Copley from Hampshire Constabulary’s Child Abuse Investigation team said “This was a horrific and prolonged period of abuse against a child.

“I would like to commend the child for their courage in coming forward and telling us what happened and for their bravery throughout this investigation.

“We know how hard it is to come forward and report abuse which is why we have specially trained officers who support survivors throughout the investigation and the court process.

“No child should have to suffer and we hope this case shows that we are committed to bringing to justice those who target children in this way.

“We encourage anyone who is being abused or knows of someone who is being abused to contact us on 101 where you can speak to one of our specialist officers in confidence.

“Alternatively, people can contact Childline on 0800 11 11, or if you are an adult who has concerns about a child, you can call the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000.”