A 40-year-old man from Old Woking was today jailed for a total of 17 years for a string of sexual offences against two teenage girls.
CHRISTOPHER HOLGATE
Christopher Holgate, from St Peter's Road, carried out the attacks against his victims when they were aged between 14 and 16, on some occasions after giving them alcohol or drugs.
He was found guilty of five counts of rape and one count of sexual activity with a child involving one victim and two counts of rape in relation to the second victim following a trial at Guildford Crown Court which ended on November 7.
He returned to the same court today for sentence where he was also given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders Register when released from prison.
Holgate was found not guilty of a further two counts of rape and one count of sexual activity with a child. He was also cleared of charges of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity in relation to a third girl.
An investigation was launched in October 2012 by Surrey Police's Public Protection Investigation Unit (PPIU) after one victim contacted officers to report she had been subjected to historic sexual abuse at the hands of Holgate between 2006 and 2010.
She told officers he had bought her a necklace and then a mobile phone on which he encouraged her to send him explicit pictures of herself.
When she was 14 she said Holgate gave her alcohol and a white powder at his flat before raping her for the first time. The abuse then continued until she was 15 or 16.
As a result of the subsequent investigation, officers identified another victim who reported that Holgate had given her cannabis and vodka before raping her at an address in Knaphill in 2004. The victim told officers that this happened another five or six times in the space of a month.
Holgate was first arrested in November 2012 and then again in August 2013. He denied all allegations.
Detective Constable Kate Waters said: "Christopher Holgate is a predatory paedophile who groomed his victims and systemically abused them over a sustained period of time.
"He would often ply them with alcohol and drugs before carrying out these attacks for his own gratification.
"He has never shown a shred of remorse and by denying responsibility for his crimes has forced his victims to go through the court process.
"They are to be commended for their bravery in giving evidence and helping bring Holgate to justice. Thanks to their courage this dangerous individual is now behind bars for a considerable time.
"I hope this case serves as a warning to those who prey on children in this way that we will do everything in our power to bring you to justice.
"Surrey Police treats all allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously and I would encourage any victim to come forward and report such incidents. We have a dedicated investigation team for such crimes whose priority is victim care and we want people to feel confident that if they come forward to report an offence, we can help."
