A man from Bristol has been jailed for a series of sexual assaults during the 1980s and 1990s. Leroy Hall, of Chaplin Road in Easton, was jailed at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, January 20, after being found guilty of crimes he committed.
A five-day trial heard that during the late 1980s, a girl, who was 17 at the time, climbed into Hall's car before he drove the victim to the Eastville neighbourhood of the city and raped her. When she saw a newspaper article with a picture of Hall, she recognised him as the man who had sexually assaulted her, and she reported what had happened to police in 2017.
He also committed further crimes against a second person in the mid-1990s, with Hall being found guilty on one count of false imprisonment and one of indecent assault. Hall offered the woman, who was in her 20s at the time, a ride in Stoke Croft, but instead of taking her where she wanted to go, he drove her about Bristol before indecently assaulting her.
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Following his rape conviction, Hall, 66, was given a six-and-a-half year term. He was given concurrent sentences of two years in prison for the indecent assault and two years in prison for the false imprisonment offence.
In a victim statement read out in court at the sentence hearing, the woman who Hall raped in the 1980s said how his actions that evening are still having an effect on her family and her daily life. She said: “When my daughter was growing up, and even as an adult, I have been overprotective with her.
“I would organise her taxi, and check with her several times that night that she was OK when she went out, even checking she had got into the right taxi.
“I am still angry I have to go through therapy, and I still think about what happened to me every day of my life. I want the person who raped me to understand that what he did all those years ago has affected my life and that I will never be the same person again.”
Investigating officer, Rog Ibrahim of Bristol CID, said: “Leroy Hall demonstrated sexual predatory behaviour by committing these serious offences against a teenager and a young woman, which has had an enormous impact on them both throughout their lives.
“We would like to thank both women for having the courage and strength throughout the investigation and crown court trial, as it has led to a serious sexual offender being brought to justice. Hall had previous convictions for rape and we welcome the custodial sentence he has received for his horrific crimes.
“We’d like to assure anyone who wishes to report any sexual offence that they will be believed – it does not matter if it happened 30 minutes ago or 30 years ago, it will be taken very seriously and we can help victims access any support services they may benefit from.”
Victims of rape or sexual assault, recent or non-recent, can self-refer to The Bridge, a Sexual Assault Referral Centre available 24/7 365 days a year. Visit their website or call 0117 342 6999. They can also visit www.thisisnotanexcuse.org for details of charities and organisations who are experts in supporting victims.
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