Irishman jailed for the sexual abuse of young girls in Luton in the 1990s

Alex Henney had resided in Luton at the time he subjected two girls to multiple sexual assaults, between 1995 and 1997.

He was handed down a seven-year prison sentence at Luton Crown Court on Friday, March 4 after being found guilty of three counts of indecent assault of a child.

Henney had been extradited from Ireland to the UK for trial after Bedfordshire Police’s Protecting Vulnerable Persons (PVP) unit carried out an investigation following a disclosure made to police in 2018.

PC Benjamin Robertson, from the PVP unit, who led the investigation, said there is a huge focus in policing to bring to justice anyone involved in violence and abuse against women and girls.

“Henney’s victims have shown true courage and strength of character throughout the investigation and I commend their bravery in speaking up.

“This hasn’t been easy for either of the victims and their families to deal with.

“Child sexual abuse is a most horrendous experience; it not only ruins their young years, but stays with them through into adulthood. We will never tolerate this type of crime in our county and will do all we can to support victims and put these perpetrators behind bars.

“If anything has happened to you, no matter how long ago, it is never too late to come forward and tell us. We will do everything we can to get justice for you, and we have a number of specially trained officers who are here to support you.”

Anyone who wants to come forward and report sexual abuse, regardless of when it happened, can contact Bedfordshire Police on 101 or via beds.police.uk/ro/report

The force has specialist teams dedicated to supporting victims and works with a range of other agencies to provide support.

Bedfordshire Victim Care Services offers a comprehensive range of range of support to victims of crime, even if it has not been reported to the police.

Visit www.bedfordshirevcs.com for more information.

For a full list of support services in Bedfordshire visit bedsdv.org.uk/get-help/