LEON KIDNER – CARMARTHEN

Please do Sarah’s law

A man sexually assaulted and raped a schoolgirl while she was on family holiday in West Wales

Leon Kidner attacked the 15-year-old in a caravan in a Carmarthenshire site after previously giving her cannabis and knowing she had drunk alcohol.

The 34-year-old then lied to police and a jury and claimed the sex had been consensual and had been initiated by the child.

Sending the defendant down for 10 years, the judge told him the “wickedness” of his offending was in the life-long scars it leaves on victims.

Christopher Rees KC, for the prosecution, told Swansea Crown Court that the rape happened in a caravan in Pendine while the victim was on a family holiday.

He said the 15-year-old victim was in an intoxicated state and had been given cannabis by Kidner prior to the incident.

The barrister said in the early hours of the morning the defendant sexually assaulted the girl before raping her.

He said a subsequent forensic examination of the victim suggested Kidner had ejaculated inside his victim.

The court heard that the attack was reported to the police and the defendant was arrested. In his interview he maintained that the girl had initiated the sexual activity which had been consensual in nature.

Kidner maintained that version of events at trial but a jury rejected his account.

Leon Kidner, of Castel Toch Caravan Park, Pendine, Carmarthenshire, had previously been convicted at trial of two counts of sexual assault by penetration and one count of rape when he returned to the dock for sentencing.

He has 34 previous convictions for 71 offences including offences of violence and robbery but none for sexual matters.

Judge Walters told the defendant that the “wickedness” of the type of offending he had engaged in was that it “leaves a life-long scar” on victims, and leaves them feeling violated.

Kidner was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life, and was made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order to manage his access to girls.

In a statement read to the court by the prosecutor, the victim said the rape had left her feeling “violated” and “like something was taken away from me”.

She said she struggles to sleep and suffers with nightmares, and said her schoolwork has suffered.

The girl said she couldn’t really talk to anyone about what happened as “nobody truly understands what I have been through”. She said what happened in the caravan had impacted all aspects of her life – her relationships with others, her education, her well-being, and how she sees herself – adding: “I feel hollow and unstable. Every day feels like a struggle to feel normal again”.