'Flashbacks' trigger historic abuse case

Ramsbury man, 73, denies historic child sex charges

A RAMSBURY man has denied sexually assaulting two children.

Anthony Robert Pope, of Lawrence Mead, is said to have carried out four offences against two young girls, decades ago.

Fern Russell, opening the case for the prosecution at Reading Crown Court on Monday, said the wording of the charges reflected the law as it stood at the time the alleged offences were committed.

Mr Pope denies two charges of indecent assault on a girl aged under 14 years and two of gross indecency with a child.

Ms Russell said Mr Pope, now aged 73, had gained access to one of the girls as she slept, abusing her in her own bed.

On another occasion he sat the other girl on his lap and touched her beneath her clothing, the jury heard.

Mr Pope also committed an indecent act in front of each girl on two other occasions, the court was told.

Ms Russell said that one of the youngsters was so traumatised she went to her GP, but he failed to take her seriously and sent her away.

She added: “Hopefully, this wouldn’t happen today.”

Furious, the girl telephoned Mr Pope, the court heard, and confronted him.

Ms Russell said: “During the telephone call, he admitted it to her.”

Jurors heard that the girl then decided to blackmail Mr Pope and sent him a threatening letter.

But, said Ms Russell: “It ended up going to another man by the name of Pope, so she ended up going to see him instead.”

When Mr Pope was interviewed by police, she said, he included “kernels of truth” in his statements.

She added: “One of these was that he admitted the girl came to see him and they talked about money. There’s no dispute that she went and asked him for money – so why did she feel he owed her?”

Ms Russell said the case was brought when one of the victims began to get “flashbacks” of the abuse which she reported to West Berkshire’s mental health team, who told her to report it to police.

One of the girls is said to have suffered a mental breakdown as a result of the abuse, causing paranoia and delusions and Ms Russell conceded: “The defence, quite rightly, will explore this. But it’s easy to say: ‘Oh, she’s got mental health issues’.

“You’re setting up your defence really early when you abuse a child, aren’t you? If you abuse them enough, they will turn out like [the alleged victim]. When you think about it, historic sexual offending, particularly against children, takes place with no witnesses and precious little evidence.

“Children tend not to run into the street to say they’re being abused. Sometimes they grow into adults that keep secrets.”

She added: “The truth of this kind of offending is known only to those who perpetrate it and to those on the receiving end.

“Mr Pope, you might feel, is a pretty strong personality – don’t let that personality come between you and the truth.

“Judge whether these are wicked women telling a pack of lies; whether they are silly or confused... or whether they are now ready to tell the truth of what happened to them.”

The case continues.