Man sentenced for rape offences

A man has been sentenced for two counts of rape which occurred more than twenty years ago, in Chester.

John Patrick Kenneth Smith, 34, currently of HMP Liverpool but previously of Chester, was handed a 20-month sentence for rape offences at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday 27 March.

He was previously found guilty of the offences following a four-day trial at Chester Crown Court in January.

The case first came to the attention of Cheshire Police when the victim reported the offences in April 2021.

The victim stated he was seven years old when he was raped by Smith who would have been 10 or 11 at the time. The victim was raped a second time by Smith around two years later. Both of the offences occurred in Chester.

Smith, who was serving at HMP Liverpool for unrelated offences, refused to be produced to police custody to be interviewed on the allegations and instead submitted a written statement denying the offences.

Following an investigation, Smith was charged with the offences.

Smith will also need to sign the Sex Offender Register for 10 years.

Detective Sergeant Steve Popplestone said:

“These offences happened a considerable amount of time ago, however the victim found the courage to speak out about what happened, and I commend him for his bravery in doing so.

“Although Smith was also very young when the offences occurred, he knew what he was doing was wrong and committed the offence on more than one occasion.

“I hope this case demonstrates that we always take offences of this nature extremely seriously, no matter how much time has passed since.

“We have specialist officers who provide support to victims and work with services dedicated to giving victims the help and advice they need."

If you, or anyone you know, have been a victim of a sexual offence, call Cheshire Police on 101. 

Pictured - John Patrick Kenneth Smith.