'We are relieved knowing that you will no longer be in a position to harm children again'
A man who committed a number of child sex offences has been jailed.
Kieran Smith, aged 22, of Highfield Avenue, Grimsby, was found guilty following a trial at Leeds Crown Court of rape of a girl under 13, assault of a girl under 13 by penetration and causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
Smith lived in Castleford at the time of the offences, which occurred between 2022 and 2024, and were committed against one victim.
He appeared at Bradford Crown Court yesterday (Thursday, January 15) where he was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with an extended licence period of one year.
He was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which puts restrictions on him having unsupervised contact, either directly or indirectly, with any child under the age of 18 on his release from prison.
In a statement provided to the court, the victim’s family said: “As a family, we want to express our deep pride in our brave young girl for coming forward to protect others.
“It's important to acknowledge the impact of your actions and how they have affected her life.
"We are relieved knowing that you will no longer be in a position to harm children again.
"However, there is also a concern about the possibility of your release in the future and the potential risk it may pose. We hope that measures will be taken to ensure the safety of others will always remain.
“We want to take this time to remind people that no matter how much you think you know someone they should never have your full trust.
"We live in a world where ‘it will never happen to us’, but it did, and he has ruined our poor girl's childhood memories. Although he has got a prison sentence, we feel it will never be enough for what he has done, however it brings us some sort of comfort knowing this is now public knowledge and are aware of what he is.
“We would also like to tell others if you are in this situation you are brave enough to speak out about it, please find the help and support you could need.”