A former foster carer from Ramsgate who sexually abused and raped five children over an 11 year period has been jailed for 22-and-a-half years.
Gary Teague, 58, was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court yesterday (18 December). Teague had been charged with a total of 14 offences which spanned 11 years. They included six counts of rape, three counts of gross indecency, two counts of indecent assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, one sexual assault and one count of administering a substance to stupefy/overpower to allow sexual activity.
Guilty
He denied all 14 charges, but a jury found him guilty of all but the charge of administering a substance to stupefy/overpower to allow sexual activity. This will lie on file.
Sentencing him, Judge Heather Norton told Teague he must serve two-thirds of his sentence and on release would be on licence for four-and-a-half years.He was given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order not to contact his victims either directly or indirectly, also to run indefinitely.
Callous
Investigating officer Detective Constable Jenny Brightman said: “These offences all occurred while Gary Teague was alone with the children. He callously told his victims that they wouldn’t be believed and that they would be in trouble if they told anyone what had happened.
“Throughout this investigation he denied any wrong-doing, claiming the children had made up the allegations, even though their stories were consistent.”
Tremendous courage
Detective Constable Brightman paid tribute to Teague’s victims: “They will undoubtedly carry the emotional scars of his abuse for the rest of their lives, yet they showed tremendous courage in giving evidence against him.
“Kent Police takes all allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously, no matter how long ago they took place. We have teams of specialist officers who work tirelessly to ensure that offenders do not evade justice.
“I hope other victims of this type of abuse will have the confidence to come forward, safe in the knowledge that they will be treated with the utmost care and understanding.
“I also hope that this substantial sentence shows offenders just how seriously the courts take sexual offences against children.”
Previous
Teague was previously found guilty of offences against two children and sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court in September 2016.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of making an indecent photo of a child.
He had pleaded not guilty to two counts of abusing a position of trust by causing or inciting a child to engage in a sexual activity and two counts of recording another person doing a private act for his own sexual gratification.
He was convicted of all six offences following a trial at Canterbury Crown Court in June 2016 and jailed for two years and three months.