A CHILD rapist has been jailed for 22 years for a series of historic sexual attacks on children.

Robert Ratcliffe was jailed for 12 sexual attacks on children between 1980 and 1999 at Reading Crown Court on Friday [14] after being convicted of by a jury at the same court in September.

The 49-year-old, of Rowan Road, West Drayton, Hillingdon, was convicted of seven indecent assaults, two counts of indecency with a child, one attempted rape and two rapes. The sexual abuse relates to a girl when she was aged between eight and 11, a boy between the ages of four and six and a girl aged between six and eight years-old and took place at homes in Reading and Basingstoke.

Detective Constable Melanie Brown, from the Thames Valley Police’s Child Abuse Investigation Unit, thanked the victims for having the bravery to come forward and give evidence against Ratcliffe.

She said: “Ratcliffe’s offending spanned nearly 20 years and was of the most serious degree.

“He deliberately took advantage of children as young as four in order to satisfy his own sexual gratification.

“It is because of their courage that he is now facing a long time behind bars.”