Historic sex offences guilty verdict for former Rotherham company director

A FORMER company director is facing jail after being found guilty of historic sex offences.
Sheffield Crown CourtSheffield Crown Court
Sheffield Crown Court

Andrew Tate (52), of Broadlands, Bramley, was convicted of three counts of indecent assault and one count of indecency with a child on Tuesday and is due to be sentenced on Friday.

He was cleared of one count of indecent assault and two counts of indecency with a child following a five-day trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

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Tate committed the offences in Rotherham in the early 80s against a schoolgirl when he was aged between 15 and 17, after forcing his victim to perform sex acts on him.

Giving evidence earlier this month, Tate said the victim had made up the allegations out of “vindictiveness and jealousy”.

But under cross-examination prosecutor, Ms Louise Reevell, said Tate had fabricated stories about altercations he had had with the victim and her husband to paint a “picture of animosity”.

The victim told the court that Tate had admitted to the offences in the late 90s when she confronted him about it when she was aged around 25, but he denied this.

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The woman also contacted social services in 1998 and 2003 to report concerns she had about Tate and another girl.

The prosecutor said notes of conversations social workers had with Tate on both occasions had been examined and revealed he had twice confessed to the abuse.

Tate told social workers he had struggled to make sense of what he had done, said Ms Reevell, and acknowledged the abuse had gone on for some time.

“The matter was not taken any further by social services, save that checks were made by other agencies and there were no concerns for the other girl,” she said.

The woman did not make a formal complaint to the police until 2015.

When he was interviewed by the police, Tate denied the abuse and denied discussing the allegations with social workers.