A man who groomed and then repeatedly raped a schoolgirl 20 years ago has been jailed for 15 years for five sexual offences, today, 21 August.
Paul Richardson, 63, of Rotherham abused the 15-year-old at hotels in South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire after grooming her.
When the girl was 14, Richardson began giving her love letters, presents and alcohol. Sometimes he took her out on day trips.
In 2005, when Richardson was 42 and the girl was 15, he took her to a cinema, then on to a hotel near Worksop, Nottinghamshire. At the hotel, Richardson gave the girl wine to drink. He then began kissing her.
In interviews with National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators, the victim, now in her 30s, said she repeatedly told Richardson she didn’t want him to kiss her, but Richardson continued and then raped her.
In the months that followed, Richardson raped the girl a further three times.
He took her to a hotel in Rotherham where he attempted to rape the girl, and then later did rape her. On another occasion – across a two-day period – he raped the girl twice at a house in Nottinghamshire.
The victim related how Richardson picked her up in his car – sometimes from school – and took her to places where she was then alone with him.
Whenever the victim told Richardson she did not want to have sex, he overpowered or manipulated her.
A trial at Sheffield Crown Court last month heard how Richardson knew the girl had a chaotic home life and set about making her feel dependent upon him for stability, so that she would not report the abuse. He threatened that if she told anyone about them she would lose him and have no one.
In 2022, officers from Operation Stovewood – the NCA’s enquiry into historic allegations of sexual abuse in Rotherham – contacted the victim, who they believed had been sexually abused.
The victim told specially-trained investigators about the abuse and provided them with a phone which Richardson had given to her when she was a child, as a means of secretly contacting her. Officers retrieved several messages from the phone, many of which were sexual texts from Richardson to the girl.
Officers subsequently arrested Richardson and charged him in March 2024.
Following the sentencing today, NCA senior investigating officer Kath Blain said:
“Our investigation found that Paul Richardson groomed and raped a vulnerable young girl, who saw him as a father figure. Richardson exploited the girl’s trust in him and manipulated her fear of being alone in order to control and sexually abuse her.
“I want to pay tribute to the bravery of the victim who has shown enormous strength in testifying against her attacker. While nothing can erase the trauma she has suffered, I hope that the outcome today brings her some measure of closure, that Richardson will spend years in prison for what he did to her.
“I encourage anyone who was sexually abused as a child to report it to police in person or by calling 101, who have officers specially trained to investigate such cases, regardless of how long ago the crime occurred.”
In addition to the jail sentence Richardson was also handed a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and will also be required to sign the sex offenders register for life.
Martin McRobb, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said:
“Paul Richardson deliberately exploited the difficult circumstances the victim was
going through by creating a dependency that allowed him to manipulate and abuse her over several months.
“He sought to gain her trust by giving her gifts and attention, but his sole motivation was sexual. He drove her to hotels and to an unoccupied address where, during overnights stays, he forced himself on her and raped her.
“The victim in this case has shown remarkable courage in coming forward and giving evidence about these traumatic experiences. Her testimony, combined with the digital evidence she preserved, enabled us to build a strong case that demonstrated Richardson’s guilt to a jury.
“No child should endure what this victim suffered. The Crown Prosecution Service remains committed to working closely with law enforcement partners to bring perpetrators of child sexual abuse to justice – no matter how much time has passed.”
The NCA’s Operation Stovewood remains the single biggest investigation of its kind, looking at allegations of abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. To date 47 people – including Richardson – have been convicted.
Richardson was convicted at Sheffield Crown Court on 27 July.
21 August 2025
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