Local councillor Daryll Pitcher has been found guilty of 2 counts of rape against a child and will now be placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
46-year-old Pitcher, of Norman Way in Wootton, now faces a possible prison sentence after jurors at the Isle of Wight Crown Court returned a guilty verdict this afternoon (Monday).
The jury reached a majority verdict on the counts, as members could not all agree, with 11 to 1 finding Pitcher guilty.
Earlier in the trial, Pitcher had been found not guilty of indecent assault of a girl under 14 years as the prosecution presented no evidence.
The historic offences date back to between 1990 and 1992 – over 30 years ago – when Pitcher was a child himself.
The guilty verdict comes after the jury listened to 6 days of arguments from both the prosecution and the defence, including a statement from the victim that said Pitcher penetrated her twice, taking her virginity.
The court heard the victim did not understand what had gone on and it was only after having sex education classes at school did she realise it was wrong. Until very recently, the victim said she blamed herself for the incidents but it was only through therapy and counselling that she realised that was not the case.
Recorder Richard Onslow summed up the case and sent the jury out earlier this morning, with it taking just 5 hours for the verdict to be returned.
The Wootton councillor has always denied committing the offences.
The case has been adjourned for sentencing at the Isle of Wight Crown Court on 12th April. A pre-sentence report has been requested with Mr Onslow stating that all sentencing options are open.
Pitcher will now be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register. He has been bailed until the sentencing.
NOT specifically referring to this case but I do not think defendants should be named until found guilty.
If not found guilty victims still have some anonymity.
It’s difficult for us to form our options because we are fed little facks of the case by the media, unless we were present at the hearings….
However, I agree anonymity should prevail until found guilty, look at what happened to cliff Richards when his home was all over our TV screens, and the BBC that hid what was happening with Jimmy Savile…
BBC helicopters flying over his home before Cliff had a chance to defend himself, bloody disgusting behaviour from the BBC….
He was found to be innocent, but his life was ruined, and will be with him throughout his life….
Never believe everything the mainstream media feed us, because they are very powerful and Corrupt…Always have been, and always will be..
She will get a nice lump of cash now from the criminal compensation legislation.
that bloke has been convicted on the say so of a woman who has no evidence to present or proof
she indicated that she was struggling mentally and at work – clearly looking for a payout at the expense of some guys life.
I hope the disgusting woman is pleased with herself – having ruined a mans life over something that she claimed to have done with him when he was a child – clearly his word didn’t matter – i guess she will have to live with the consequences of her actions now, especially if he is definitely innocent and if he wishes to make her pay for this further down the line.
he will now face a sentence that a 14 year old would have faced at the time, under the law of the day – sending him to young offenders are they.
I doubt that, given the liittle info we have been given and know for a fact.
https://www.cica-uk.co.uk/abuse-claims/rape-compensation/
https://www.cica-uk.co.uk/abuse-claims/rape-compensation/
Anoother nonce,caught,old pals act lenient sentencing awaits
idiot john – you cannot be a nonce, if you were a child at the time yourself – get a grip man
Noun. nonce (plural nonces) (Britain, derogatory) A sex offender, especially one who is guilty of sexual offences against children.
So, yes, he’s a nonce.
You seen to be keen to support this person. Skeletons in your own closet, perhaps?
ama – those that point the accusing finger, are usually the guilty party
To paraphrase the Bard, me thinks you doth protest too much…..What are you hiding????
A nonce is the slang term for sex offenders in general so, yes, he is a nonce.
I think you may be thinking of “paedophile”, which refers to an adult with a sexual interest in children. As both Pitcher and his victim were both legally children at the time of the offence, he clearly can’t be categorised as a paedophile.
no he isn’t a nonce – you know as well as everyone else does, that in uk society, a person labelled as a nonce is an adult who engages in sex with kids, even if the dictionary term is paedophile –
Correct. UK slang for an adult kiddie fiddler which later ‘paedophile’became the preferred word and nonce dropped out of circulation/use..
Convicted of something he did over 30 years ago when he was a child. A very unusual case.
How do you know he hasnt continued his offences all through his life
How do we know you haven’t? Or anyone for that matter?
The evidence stated he and the girl knew each other when he was 14. The law says a child cannot be prosecuted for rape when they are 14. How did the jury conclude he was guilty of rape when the law states he would have been incapable of such at that age?
A child can’t be convicted of statuary rape, no.
But this was actual rape. Pitcher forced a girl to have sex with him.
there was never any proof that he raped anyone – just some woman claiming that he did so, 30 years ago – with no acutal proof or evidence. – she is possibly lying through her teeth for a payout.
I disagree with the law that states an underage is ‘incapable’ of rape, if a 10 year old can walk another 10 year old to a quiet spot and murder him then anything is possible however rare it is, to suggest that they cant is nieve. I’m more worried about the implications this has on the youngsters who alot of them do lie about such serious issues as these and often in jest, without apparent understanding of the consequences for the other party.
A child cannot be convicted of statutory rape, no.
This, however, was actual rape. Pitcher forced a girl to have sex with him against her will. A child can be convicted of that.
I think the prosecution proved to the jury ( somehow) that at the time of the offence he was at least 14 years old. I think the law at the time was you could not be guilty of rape if UNDER the age of 14. Thin blue line and very marginal evidence/situation.Child v child.
Yes, indeed… I’m surprised it even got to court…I would be even more surprised if he got a jail sentence. The law has to be applied that was in force at the time of the event. ( Rolf Harris)
Leaving aside that they were both kids of about the same age, how on earth is a man supposed to defend himself after all this time?
So no evidence other than she said, he said was offered. The prosecutor conceded this point. Think about it. Anyone can accuse you of anything when you were a child with no evidence and get you convicted. That’s scary.
Exactly for example sake she said she wanted to 30 years later she didn’t want to her word against his man get sent down
Given bail until sentencing,suggests a non custodian sentence.
May go to jail?? so he won’t then..so what was the point of it all….
Where there is doubt, there is risk.
How many kids in the 90’s had under age sex, loads of them were at it, according to the playground gossip! There must be many guys quaking in their boots waiting for the police to knock on the door, with historic abuse claims. How did this ever get to court in the first place ?
Right. Let’s make this clear.
This was not 2 kids having consensual underage sex.
This was a 15 year-old forcing another child of similar age to have sex with him.
If you had consensual underage sex you have nothing to worry about. If it was not consensual then, yes, you should be afraid.
And rightfully so.
It still amazes me that people who would be calling for blood if a current 15 year old was convicted of rape are excusing Pitcher because of the time that has passed.
allegedly forced – just her word and no proof of it even happening.
Proven, “beyond reasonable doubt” in a British court of Law.
So you obviously know the person involved, so you have better knowledge than us keyboard warriors. However, I stand by my comments. To bring this up 30 years later and ruin a man’s life and those close to him is unfair and unjust. It should have been raised at the time and could have been dealt with in a timely manner with evidence.
Now imagine if Jon Venables or Robert Thompson hadn’t been caught until 2022 for the 1990 murder of James Bulger.
You think prosecuting them would also be “unfair”?
Or is it that you think rape isn’t a serious crime?
Actually I don’t know the people involved, but I do know a young (in her late 20s) woman who had a similar experience to Pitcher’s victim. It has blighted her life. Sadly the CPS decided there wasn’t enough evidence.
Time makes no difference. Rape is rape is rape.
At a sensitive age of 14 and the ways things were viewed 30 years ago this young lady may well have felt ashamed, confused and possibly scared or under duress “don’t you dare tell anyone about this ” etc. It may well have played on her mind for the past 30 years, always there on her mind. It might well have blighted her thoughts and even life choices and actions and finally after this time she has felt the strength to speak out. I don’t know – none of us do. Court felt it worthy of a conviction so something clearly decided their decision.
This is such a frightening outcome, no evidence just two opposing stories. As teenagers back then he could not of been charged with rape and like others said, many a teenager was having sexual relationship,there was high numbers of teenage pregnancy (not saying that’s right) I remember another story few years back and guy got done for having sex with 15yr old (33yrs ago) who he then married had 4 children and she left him after 30yrs marriage and he was arrested and found guilty!. We need young people of today to be made aware of future consequences.
If you sexually force yourself on another person, that will ALWAYS be illegal, whatever age you are.
Wow!!
So many coming out in support of a convicted sex offender.
Skeletons in your own closets?
perhaps someone accuses you of a sex crime committed in your childhood years that you didn’t do and they have no proof – see how you like standing in a court with others sneering at you, taking the other persons word for it, despite no proof – see how you feel then.
Except it WAS proven.
Why are you defending a convicted rapist?
I find cases like this deeply concerning. They were both children at the time and yet now, 30 years later, one of them is put on the sex offenders register? That, for me, doesn’t sit very comfortably. If he was an adult it would be different, but both were kids.
How can you reliably convict someone when there is literally no evidence? It seems to come down to the fact that one of them told a more convincing story than the other, but that’s not ‘evidence’.
Plus, there’s a ticking timebomb here. All those teenage fumblings, and more, going on between young teenagers today are likely to come back to haunt some of those people 30 years down the line and they’re going to find themselves in this man’s predicament.
Totally agree but there maybe a lot more to this story than we all know. At least I hope there is otherwise a jury has just convicted a man of rape based on somebody’s word from over 31 years ago. And yes that is deeply worrying.
But this was more than ‘teenage fumbling’ this was quite possibly FORCED sex. The Court decided so.
Mind you he does look a bit rapey
Pitcher is a convicted rapist. End of story.
The fact that he was 15 when he committed the crime is irrelevant. He forced a girl to have sex against her will. That is rape.
I can just imagine the calls for blood if a current 15 year old was convicted of doing the same thing. Why is Pitcher any different. Why does the time that is passed make any difference?
Answer: He isn’t and it doesn’t.
no proof he did anything – just her word – she could be lying to get at him and a payout.
Were you on the jury? Were you in Court for the entire trial? Did you here all of the evidence submitted?
No?
So how do you know there was “no proof” when 11 out of 12 randomly selected jurors decided there was?
Considering how difficult it is to secure a rape conviction, that 11/12 majority verdict suggests there was plenty of compelling evidence.
Or – he could have forced her. How do you know? None of us do. None of us were there at the time.
Ah yes but he was only fifteen so should be let off. Unlike Shamina Begum who is guilty of being groomed while brown.
no proof he even did it – whereas she voluntarily went to another country and publicly stated how she hated the uk – hardly innocent is she.
Yet we have had GANGS not a gang, but ‘gangs’ of coloureds deliberately picking only on young white girls and raping them, forcing abortions on them and raping again.
IMAGINE, IF it had been white gangs doing this to coloured young girls ONLY.
The BBC would never ever drop the case, and the rioting and stealing trainers and electrical items would be followed by ‘new race rape’ laws to appease the masses.
Yet Both the Rochester and Rotherham cases dropped like a hot spud from the media. Ask yourself WHY
maybe you should’ve started with “I’m not racist but……”
So what hes said isnt true then???
Just because a lot of time has passed it does not protect sex offenders from past offences. I hope this sends out a clear signal to other historic offenders who think they are immune from prosecution because many years have passed by, they are not. Victims of this type of offence can take an awful long time to make sense of it all. If you have committed sexual offences in the past, no matter how long ago, you will still face justice if your victim decides coming forward is the best course of action. If you are an offender, I hope this story makes you sweat.
So maybe it was the other way around, and she is the one at fault, and has now had second thoughts, and wants to blame him. The whole situation is wrong. If you want to bring cases like this it should be done at the time, not 30 years later, when there is no actual evidence, Mr Pitcher should go for a retrial.
exactly ebony – needs to happen
Maybe he could go all the way to the ECJ.
Oh wait a minute, we “took back control”, didn’t we. British Justice for British nonces.
As a kipper it’s what he would’ve wanted.
She was at ‘fault’. 30 years ago aged 14 and possibly too scared to speak out. In fact there’s 14 year old girls these days too scared to speak out. Either way, none of us know and quite frankly this thread should be closed. Everyone quick to speculate when no one knows the facts.
i agree, i think the whole things a sham
So much wild speculation on here but without knowing the facts. There must have been some strong and convincing evidence for an 11-1 jury decision.
Absolutely.
Rape convictions are notoriously hard to secure. I was expecting a not guilty verdict and I imagine Pitcher’s victim was too.
So, yes, the evidence presented to the jury must have been very compelling indeed.
I hope this gives her some closure and allows her to get on with her life.
1. How much money will she get ?
2. What will she spend it on ?
3. Where is the proof ?
4. Would she have bothered pressing charges if this guy was not in the public eye ?
5. I think it stinks ?
The bottom line is I just cannot understand how you can prove that the sex they had together as children was not consensual 31 years ago.
Then explain why 11 out of 12 randomly selected people of good character decided there was enough evidence?
There probably won’t be any.You can’t spend nothing and if there were any it wouldn’t be any of your business.11 out of 12 randomly selected jurors of good character thought there was enough to convict Pitcher “beyond reasonable doubt”.Rapists who are in the “public eye” are a constant reminder to their victims of what they did to them. It is that that makes them “bother”, not compensation.What stinks are the people here trying to defend a convicted rapist.
13 and 14 year olds need to have sex education before they reach their teens and if there were better parents this could start sooner rather than later. I wonder if the counselling records were show at the trial along with the reasons as to why 30 years later she sought therapy and counselling. This seems to be a phase due to media coverage of old indecent events being splashed across national media I am not saying it is not needed but putting this trial into context with the ages of those involved and 30 years later – what happend for her to seek therapy and counselling?
This smacks of a political witch hunt. Personally speaking, I considered most of Daryl Pitchers own political opinions unreasoned and occasionally quite mad, but that doesn’t make him a bad person.
Does it make a person bad, when without any apparent evidence to substantiate a claim… a person alleges serious misdemeanours or crimes against that person? In that case, none of us however pure in thought or deed, can relax.
One word against the other. Could the jury have chosen the guilty option because this guy was (certainly not now), a politician?
This whole case needs to be checked and checked again. Something is not quite right here.
Hope he gets sent down .rape end of story
Thanks Carl. I agree with you. My thoughts entirely. Something is definitely not right!!