A paedophile who hid behind his status as a ‘pillar of the community’ has been jailed for nine years for sexually assaulting another girl.
Branded the ‘big bad wolf’ by one of his victims, Arthur Shefford, now 80, is already serving a 12 year sentence – imposed in 2019 – for predatory assaults on four children that dated back to the 1970s.
He was due to stand trial on Wednesday for sexually assaulting another pre-teen girl from 2012 to 2016.
But appearing before Oxford Crown Court yesterday afternoon, the pensioner admitted his guilt – pleading to a single count of sexual assault on a girl under-13 by penetration.
Recorder James Newton-Price KC sentenced him to nine years’ imprisonment and imposed an extended year on licence as a sexual offender of particular concern.
Welcoming the sentence, officer in the case DC Karen Zoldan said after the hearing: “I would like to commend the victim for coming forward in this case, and for her bravery throughout the investigation.
“Very often in child abuse cases the victims can be reluctant to come forward, due to the time that has passed.
“They fear they will not be believed or that there are no witnesses or forensic evidence, but this conviction and sentencing shows that this is not always the case.
“Everyone deserves justice and allegations of this nature are taken incredibly seriously by Thames Valley Police.”
READ MORE: What happened when Shefford was jailed in 2019
In 2019, when Shefford was sent down for 12 years by the Recorder of Oxford Judge Ian Pringle KC, he was labelled a ‘self-indulgent sexual abuser’ who had shown ‘no recognition’ for the damage he had caused four victims.
At that sentencing hearing, one victim told the court: “He took my childhood, he took my innocence.
“He made me believe that nobody would believe me and made me feel worthless and dirty. I can’t change my past, but I will change my future.”
Another woman said she had nicknamed Shefford the ‘big bad wolf’.
The sick abuser was said to have previously befriended child victims and offered them rides on a horse – called Sugar – that he kept stabled in the city.
One victim was said to have been riding the beast when Shefford first abused her. “Everyone knew him, he was classed as a pillar of the community,” she said.
READ MORE: Jury acquits man who told police: 'I'm anti-nonce'
Earlier this month, Shefford’s victim in the latest case gave evidence in a separate trial involving sexual allegations against a different man.
But lawyers for that defendant - later acquitted of sexual assault by Oxford jurors - suggested that the allegations related to Shefford.
“‘Paedo’, ‘nonce’, ‘kiddie-fiddler’. They’re not very nice words in [any] strata of society, but we all know what they mean,” said Jonathan Coode, counsel for the defendant.
Those were words that applied to Shefford, who was ‘doing a very, very long stretch for, let’s put it in the vernacular, kiddie-fiddling’, Mr Coode told the jury.
Shefford, now of HMP Doncaster but formerly of Abingdon Road, Oxford, remains a registered sex offender for life.
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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.
To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward
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