Paedophile jailed for rape of young sisters

A paedophile who repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted two young sisters was today sentenced to 16 years in prison.

John Atkinson (aged 66), who had pleaded guilty to almost 60 offences against the girls over a three-year period, filmed many of his acts against them.

Handing down the sentence at Belfast Crown Court, Judge Mr Justice Hart told Atkinson that he would have faced even more years behind bars if he had not pleaded guilty or had been in good health.

Atkinson, from the seaside village of Millisle, Co Down, is now wheelchair bound and suffers from a form of lymphoma. Doctors say life expectancy for someone with his condition is an average of 10 years.

He started abusing the sisters when they were nine and seven respectively. He had befriended the girls’ family and had gained the trust of their parents to such an extent that they allowed them to visit his house and go on overnight trips with him.

Mr Justice Hart said that his offences constituted a gross betrayal of the trust placed in him by the girls’ parents.

“Had the defendant pleaded not guilty and been convicted I consider that the total sentence would have been not less than 22 years imprisonment,” he said.