March 2016
Ex-firefighter jailed for sex attack on girl, 15, in caravan
A RETIRED firefighter has been jailed for carrying out a “terrifying sex attack” on a girl in a caravan.
Christopher Hopkins, a former firefighter, fondled the victim inappropriately when she was just 15 years old.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said of the sexual assault carried out in the mid-1980s: “He just carried on as normal. My life as a young person was changed and continues to be changed to this day.”
Preston Crown Court heard how Hopkins, aged 55, of Tower Court, Chapeltown, attacked the woman when she was asleep in a caravan at Windy Harbour Caravan Park in Blackpool, Lancashire.
The victim said in an impact statement she read to the court that she woke to find Hopkins touching her inside her pyjamas.
Shaking as she read, she said: “I have suffered from anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts in my 20s.
“I can’t remember my teenage years. I have had serious trust issues with men. Even now I have similar thoughts and feelings with men in general.
“I still have flashbacks. I have had counselling sessions to learn coping mechanisms to deal with this.
“I am still unable to go to Blackpool or stay in a caravan for a period of time.
“I have difficulty sleeping in certain positions.
“Perhaps the biggest thing is the effect it has had on my relationships in my family. I have felt isolated from them.
“As I was being assaulted I was absolutely terrified. I have never been so terrified before or since.
“He had no respect for me. He just did what he wanted to do, so much so that I don’t think he even felt guilty the next day.”
Following the attack Hopkins was confronted by members of the woman’s family but denied the allegations.
In October last year – after counselling – the woman made a complaint to Lancashire Police, who launched an investigation.
Hopkins was arrested in December and told police the woman had “an axe to grind”.
However he later requested a second interview where he admitted he had indecently assaulted her — saying he it was “a drunken moment of madness” but that it was no excuse.
The court heard Hopkins, previously of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, served as a firefighter for 30 years and was well regarded in the community.
Hopkins was convicted of two counts of indecent assault on a female at Blackpool Magistrates’ Court on January 27.
Judge Jacqueline Beech sentenced the 55-year-old to six months in jail.
She told him: “If you had admitted your offending at that stage this matter would have been dealt with 30 years ago.
“The delay in cases such as this can not and does not reduce the sentence.
“You could have admitted these offences at any stage. This was not a case where you were immature at the time.
“You were 24 and knew exactly what you were doing as the adult in respect of a 15 year old girl.
“This is a graphic account of how sexual offences blight the lives of victims.”
