North Devon man jailed for serious sexual offences

Sentenced for 19 years

A North Devon man has been jailed for 19 years after being found guilty of serious sexual offences against a vulnerable victim.

Lee Sharp, aged 42, appeared at Exeter Crown Court, where the judge also sentenced him to six years on extended license and granted a restraining order.

Sharp, of Easterly Terrace, Sticklepath, stood trail in August, where he pleaded not guilty to sexual activity with a child, coercive and controlling behaviour and rape.

The jury found him guilty on all counts, and he was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on Monday 30 September.

The court heard that Sharp had sexually abused the victim when she was a teenager, knowing that she was under the age of consent and had told her to keep quiet about what had happened.

He raped her as an adult, being physically and emotionally abusive, this included physically restraining her, and spitting in her face. He also repeatedly referred to her as things such as ‘scum of the earth’ and told her ‘nobody would want you’.

Messages were shown in evidence that Sharp had sent, all were volatile and derogatory in nature, on one occasion he told her ‘you dog you’re going to die for this’. 

Sharp was summonsed to court in 2022 and denied the offences throughout the court process but was later found guilty by a jury.