A PAEDOPHILE who "spent 50 years thinking he got away with sexually abusing young children" has been jailed thanks to the bravery of his victims.

Kevin Hawkins, 65 of Daines Road, Billericay appeared at Basildon Crown Court today where he was sentenced to 22 years after being found guilty of multiple sexual offences.

An investigation was launched after a woman reported in March 2021 that she was sexually abused by Hawkins in the 80s. During the early enquiries, several victims came forward to report that Hawkins had sexually abused them when they were children.

The most historic offence reported took place in 1973.

After being arrested for these offences, Hawkins was charged with 19 offences including rape, 18 of which were sexual offences against children as young as seven years old.

Following a trial at Basildon Crown Court, Hawkins was found guilty on February 16 of 16 sexual offences including rape of a child under 16 and five counts of indecent assault.

Investigating officer Nick Schneider from the child abuse investigation team said: “This sentence proves that there is no time limit when it comes to getting justice. Hawkins has spent the last 50 years thinking he has got away with sexually abusing young children but the bravery of these victims has finally held him accountable.

“The strength it takes to repeatedly go through a traumatic experience you went through as a child cannot be underestimated, however this strength from the victims has meant that Hawkins cannot harm anyone else.

“If I could speak directly to anyone who may have experienced abuse as a child, but not found the strength to report to contact us or one of the amazing support services within Synergy Essex for support.

“Our child abuse investigation team and quest team are equipped to investigate all reports of non-recent sexual abuse.”