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Your past has now caught up with you, judge tells Castree
THE judge who sentenced Lesley Molseed's murderer Ronald Castree to life behind bars told him: "Your past has now caught up with you".
Mr Justice Openshaw, who presided over the three-week trial at Bradford Crown Court, told Castree he had committed a "truly dreadful crime" for which he was likely to spend the rest of his life in prison.
And he praised West Yorkshire Police for their "thoroughness and fairness" after reopening their investigation.
The judge told Castree: "This was a truly dreadful crime. Lesley Molseed was only 11 and she was vulnerable, not just because of her age but because of her learning difficulty."
The judge then described the attack in detail, setting out how Castree lured Lesley into his car because "she was trusting" and led her onto moorland "out of the view of passing motorists".
He told Castree: "You left her for dead, went back to Rochdale, and carried on with the rest of your life as if nothing had happened."
The judge added: "By any standards this was an exceptionally serious murder.Sentence will be imprisonment for life. I specify you must serve 30 years before the parole board considers you for release.
"It does not mean you will be released in 30 years' time. It means you will not be released under any circumstances until you have served that time. You are 54. I appreciate the practical effect is that you will spend the rest of your life in prison."
The judge also condemned Castree for remaining silent while the innocent Stefan Kiszko was wrongly jailed.
He said: "You kept quiet whilst an entirely innocent man was arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced for this murder.
"He served fully 16 years before his conviction was fully set aside, living only a couple of years after his release before he died."
The judge accepted Castree was "not directly responsible for this injustice" but said he was entitled to consider the effect on the families involved. He added that Lesley's family had had "a long wait for justice" and been made to endure "long years of uncertainty".
"I have no doubt, for them, the memory of this dreadful murder is and always will be a burden which they must bear as best they can for the rest of their lives."
Mr Justice Openshaw said West Yorkshire Police's cold case review of the crime had been an "absolute textbook of thoroughness and fairness".
He recommended official commendations for 15 people who worked on the case, including several police officers and forensic scientist Dr Gemma Escott.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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