Logan Bradley Cranham inappropriately touched the girl on two occasions, and whilst she felt “uncomfortable and weird” at the time, it wasn’t until she learnt about “good and bad touching” at school that she realised what the then 17-year-old had done to her.
He was arrested and made no comment in police interview. After officers ordered him to hand over his devices, he refused to give them the passwords.
Eventually, they cracked the locks and were met with a cache of almost 2,500 child abuse images across his laptop and phone.
It included ten videos and 24 Category A images, those of the most serious nature. Among the library were pictures of children as young as three years old, as well as a young teenager tied up by her wrists and ankles.
There was also evidence of a folder structure, that he had used search terms to filter through the stash, and it was password protected.
Cranham, of Fleetwood Rise in Atworth, near Melksham, had initially pleaded not guilty to two counts of assaulting a child by penetration and six counts of making indecent images. But what was meant to be the first day of his trial in February, he changed his pleas to guilty.
His victim, however, had already been cross-examined in a pre-recorded section 28 hearing.
Sentencing Cranham at Swindon Crown Court on Tuesday (April 26), Judge Peter Crabtree said: “The level of offending here is such that only immediate custody is suitable in this case.” The now 20-year-old was sentenced to two years and ten months in a young offenders’ institute.
Prosecuting, Rob Welling told the court that Cranham’s victim “had enough insight to know what the defendant was doing was bad touching”.
Mr Welling went on to read a victim personal statement from the complainant’s mother to the court, which stated the impact both on the girl and on her family. “[The victim] has been quieter and gets angrier more often. She lacks motivation and keeps to herself more. “She used to do lots of clubs but has lost interest in them.
“The impact since finding out about [her daughter’s] abuse has been traumatising to both me and [her partner].
“We both have a lot of anxiety and find it hard to trust anyone. We have distanced ourselves from a lot of friends and family.”
They went on to say that they feel that they have “failed” their daughter, and they “constantly worry” on the affect this will have on the rest of their lives.
Defending, Anjali Gohil said: “Nothing I say by way of mitigation on behalf of this defendant is designed to minimise the grief felt by [the victim] and her family, the pain and the distress that has been caused to them.”
She said Cranham had a “somewhat chaotic background” and described him as “immature and socially isolated and inept”. “There is genuine remorse, he has not tried in any shape or form [to minimise] what he has done, or dispute anything [the victim] has said.”
She appealed to Judge Crabtree to impose a community order or suspended sentence so that Cranham could get help to treat his offending. “He has turned up to face the music,” she said.
Judge Crabtree said that his continued denial he was sexually attracted to the girl was “of some concern”, and cited a probation report which said he was at a low likelihood of reoffending but poses a risk to children.
He gave Cranham a third off his sentence for the two sexual assaults as he was a juvenile at the times of the offences, and a discount of just over 5 per cent for his plea on the day of trial.
It meant a total sentence of two years and ten months in a young offenders’ institute.
He will also be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, which will restrict his contact with children and use of the internet, and must sign the sex offenders’ register.
