'Evil' Scarborough sex abuser David Stingemore jailed yet again

David Robert Stingemore, 68, was already serving an 18-and-a-half-year prison term for other child-sex offences in the 80s including raping a little girl in Scarborough on numerous occasions, York Crown Court heard.

But evidence of yet more sickening crimes came to light in 2020 when another victim, now an adult, came forward to police about the shocking abuse she had suffered at the hands of Stingemore when he was in his late 20s and early 30s.

Stingemore initially denied the offences when quizzed by police in May 2022, but ultimately admitted two counts of indecent assault against the girl and one count of indecency with a child.

Prosecutor David Povall said the indecent-assault offences involved penetration on 10 separate occasions.

He said that Stingemore, formerly of Eastfield and Barrowcliff, had been sentenced for child-sex offences on three previous occasions, the most recent being in January 2020 when he was jailed for more than 18 years and placed on the sex-offenders’ register for a “campaign of rape” against another young girl in the 1980s and indecently assaulting a young boy.

During those appalling acts of abuse, the terrified girl would be in tears and plead with Stingemore to leave her alone, but he would force her to perform sex acts on him before raping her while telling her, “I love this”.

The female victim in that case said her life had been ripped apart by Stingemore’s evil acts and the male victim had also suffered a lifetime of trauma following the abuse.

Stingemore had previously been jailed in 1987 for indecently assaulting another young girl and there were also sexual offences against young boys when Stingemore was a child himself.

The latest victim finally came forward to police in January 2020 after reading about Stingemore’s offences against the other children in the press.

Mr Povall said there were “repeated” occasions when Stingemore carried out penetrative sexual acts on the girl who was warned not to tell anyone about what had happened.

Stingemore, who was living in East Sussex before his incarceration in 2020, appeared for sentence via video link today from a custody a suite at HMP Albany in the Isle of Wight.

In a statement read out in court, the victim, now an adult, said the abuse had had “many effects on my life, some of which still cause me problems all these years later”.

“Throughout my life I’ve struggled with my emotions and often found I cried over silly things,” she added.

She struggled to trust and form relationships with men and would often “hide myself away, not wanting to face anyone or talk to anyone”.

She had sought help for her problems and was on medication for anxiety and depression.

Kevin Blount, Stingemore’s solicitor advocate, said the serial sex offender’s only mitigation were his guilty pleas.

Judge Simon Hickey said that Stingemore had admitted “three more extremely serious sexual offences” against an “extremely young girl”.

He said that Stingemore had subjected the girl to “degradation” and the “prolonged, sustained” sexual attacks had led to “lifelong, severe psychological harm”.

Stingemore was jailed for six years and eight months. The sentence will run consecutively to his existing prison sentence, which means Stingemore may spend the rest of his days behind bars.

As an “offender of particular concern”, he will also have to serve an extended three-year period on prison licence should he ever be released from jail.

Mr Hickey said that Stingemore would remain on the sex-offenders’ register for the rest of his life.