"Predatory" Petersfield paedophile who raped girl and carried out "unthinkable" acts in Waterlooville jailed

Benjamin Bull, 40, of Clare Gardens in Petersfield, has been jailed for 13 years following several sexual atrocities in Waterlooville. He was found guilty by jury today (May 20) of five charges committed in 2020 and 2021 against a girl.

This included rape of a child under 13, causing a child to watch a sexual act, causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and two counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration. Bull was handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

At the end of the five-day trial at Portsmouth Crown Court, the judge commended the victim's bravery for speaking out. They added that Bull remains a significant risk to members of the public and in particular young girls.

Detective Constable Hannah Owen, from the Eastern Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: “The victim in this case showed immeasurable bravery in coming forward and incredible courage throughout the investigation and court process. Without her, we would not have secured this result.

“We are very happy with today’s result, which means that Bull will now face the consequences of his predatory and unthinkable actions. I am pleased we can give the victim the outcome the case deserved and sincerely hope that this sentence helps her begin to move forward with her life.

“We take all allegations of sexual abuse and rape extremely seriously, and we have specially trained teams that can investigate these kinds of offences and provide support to victims. If you have experienced these kinds of offences we can make a commitment to you that you will be heard and listened to, and your report will be believed. We are determined to put victims first and relentlessly pursue offenders, especially when investigating these kinds of cases.”

Anyone who has experienced abuse in childhood or is concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC helpline confidentially on 0808 800 5000 or email [email protected]. Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111. If you have been affected by child sexual abuse you can contact police on 101 and speak to a police officer. Information on support services can be found here.