Sex attacker who preyed on young girls is jailed

Buy photos » Jeremy Pond carried out a series of sexual offences against girls as young as 12. (s)

A SEX offender who preyed on a string of girls as young as 12 years old has been jailed for five years.

Jeremy Pond, 24, of no fixed abode, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday (October 3) having already pleaded guilty to 14 sexual offences in Worcester between 2006 and 2011.

His seven victims were aged between 12 and 15 years old but he was brought to justice after police received an anonymous tip off from a member of the public about a message they had seen on a social networking site.

Pond was sentenced by Judge Patrick Thomas having admitting five counts of engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15, two counts of meeting a girl under 16 following grooming and two counts of inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity.

He had also pleaded guilty to two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child, and one count each of sexual assault, inciting a child to be involved in pornography and inciting a girl aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Detective Constable Zoey Carter, who was in charge of the investigation which led to Pond's arrest, said they were satisfied with the verdict and pleased that he had received a significant custodial sentence.

"In addition to the time he will spend in prison, Pond will also be on licence for nine years, have his computer equipment seized and will be subjected to Sexual Offences Prevention Order. He will also be required to remain on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely," she said.

"I would like to commend the bravery and strength of the young victims and their families during the course of our investigation. We hope they will take some comfort from knowing that justice has been done and that they can begin to move on with their lives."

DC Carter said she also hoped the sentence would bring some reassurance to other victims of sexual abuse and give them the confidence to come forward, safe in the knowledge the police would robustly pursue all allegations no matter how long ago they happened.

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