Rapist who fled Rotherham traced and jailed

Alexander Sherwood was sentenced to 19 years behind bars after being found guilty of a string of sexual offences against his young victim.

He left the town when he realised he was wanted by South Yorkshire Police and was traced to Liverpool, where he was arrested.

That led to him being charged with 12 sexual offences and an appearance at Sheffield Crown Court, where he pleaded not guilty to four charges of rape, four of assault by penetration, two counts of assault by touching, one charge of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and a further offence of causing a child to watch/look at an image of a sexual nature.

His not guilty plea led to a four day trial, which resulted in a jury finding him guilty of all the charges against him.

The trial took place in February and he was returned to court this month for a judge to hand down his sentence.

South Yorkshire Police described his behaviour against his victim as “despicable”.

The case against him was only made possible because of her bravery in making an initial disclosure to the force’s Protecting Vulnerable People team.

Their response gave her the confidence to report further incidents of sexual abuse, leading to the decision to arrest Sherwood.

By that time, the 52-year-old had left town, however, though investigators were able to trace his movements to Merseyside.

As well as his prison time, Sherwood was also given an indefinite restraining order and sexual harm prevention order, to place controls on his behaviour when he is released.

Det Sgt Fiona Trussell said: “The bravery of the victim in this case must be commended, it takes a lot of courage to report something of this nature.

“No child should ever be a victim of sexual assault and rape and I hope that this result shows other survivors of abuse that when they come forward, they will be listened to and treated with respect through every step of the prosecution process.”