Man raped child while on bail for sex attack

A MAN who raped an 11-year-old girl while babysitting her in Leeds has been jailed for public protection after a judge described him as a danger to children.

James Dan Ibbotson was ordered to serve a minimum of six years in prison at Leeds Crown Court yesterday but was told by Judge Scott Wolstenholme he would only be released when the Parole Board was satisfied he was no longer a risk.

Ibbotson, 36, of Rowland Terrace, Leeds who admitted the rape, was already serving a nine-year sentence for the rape of another girl some years ago.

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He was on bail for that offence when he committed the subsequent offence on the 11-year-old but it only came to light later when she confided in a friend at school.

Judge Wolstenholme said the fact Ibbotson was unable to restrain his aggressive sexual urges in spite of being on bail at that time showed he was a dangerous offender, an assessment with which the probation report on him agreed.

He had betrayed the trust placed in him by the girl’s family.

Nicholas Lumley, prosecuting, said the rape happened when the girl was being looked after by Ibbotson while her parents were out. He called her into the bathroom and committed the offence.

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She was scared and did not tell anyone at the time. He touched her sexually on other occasions before she finally told a friend and then a teacher what had happened.

Ibbotson, who had previous convictions for robbery and assault, was arrested in prison and initially denied any abuse of the girl suggesting someone else might have been responsible but eventually admitted what he had done saving the girl the ordeal of giving evidence at trial.