80-year-old man jailed for 18 years after sexually abusing children over four decades

If you are a survivor of historical abuse you can still report this to the police years later and justice can still prevail.

Recently an 80-year-old man located in Bossiney near Tintagel, Cornwall, named Robert Squires has been jailed for 18 years after he admitted to sexually abusing children over four decades. He pleaded guilty to 23 recent and non-recent child sexual offences. 

Squires would target his victims from a young age and committed the abuse both in and out of the country. He admitted the abuse after turning himself in at Bodmin Police Station.

He has been jailed for 18 years with a further year on extended licence. He must also serve two thirds of his sentence before being eligible for parole. 

Detective Sergeant Nick Williams has said that Squires was an extremely dangerous sexual offender who has now been brought to justice. 

He has praised the survivors and said the abuse had a huge impact on their lives and he would like to praise their strength for coming forward and reporting what had happened to them. 

Once historical abuse has been reported to the police, even if many years later, there is a possibility of making a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.  This is a government body in the UK that provides financial compensation to survivors of violent crimes. There are some time limits:

• If under the age of 18 at the time of the incident and it was reported to the police after your 18th birthday then you have 2 years from the date you first reported it to the police (even if years later) to submit a claim to the CICA.
   
• If under the age of 18 at the time of the incident and it was reported to the Police at the time i.e. before your 18th birthday, you have until your 20th birthday to submit a claim to the CICA.
   
• If over 18 at the time of the incident, you have 2 years from the date of the incident to submit a claim to the CICA regardless of the date you reported it to the police.

However - each claim is assessed on its own merits by Jordans Solicitors and if we believe there are exceptional circumstances for the reason a claim could not have been brought earlier then we can still submit a claim and ask the CICA to consider granting an exception to the time limit.