A Saffron Walden man has been jailed for multiple sexual offences against children, and one of his victims has spoken out.

Anthony Kamau, 51, formerly of Winstanley Road, Saffron Walden, sexually abused three children and then accused them of lying.

He appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday, June 14, where he was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison.

Kamau was arrested in February 2019 by Essex Police's Quest Team, who specialise in investigating non-recent sexual offences against children.

Enquiries revealed that Kamau had spent 10 years sexually abusing three girls between 2006 and 2017.

He was charged with two counts of sexual assault by touching, three counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity and two counts of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.

Prior to his first court hearing, despite having his passport seized, Kamau fled the country. 

Caroline Horden, from Essex Police’s Crime and Public Protection Command, worked closely with multiple agencies to track Kamau down in Nairobi and extradited him back to the UK.

On Monday, April 3, he was found guilty of all charges and further charged with breach of a court bail. 

Following the sentencing, one victim shared her experiences of the investigation, saying: "I felt comfortable speaking to the officers involved from the very start.

"Understandably not everyone is as comfortable with sharing such intimate details. But there is only so long you can keep it bottled in for and there will always come a time when you just want to release the burden and fully heal from it.

"Whether it takes you months or years to come forward, it brings sense of ending to the situation and the most validating feeling is to have the support of such a great team like Essex police.

"Sometimes with trauma like sexual assault , it’s easy to push the feelings so far in the back of your mind, that you actually forget details of an incident.

"My biggest piece of advice is to try and remember all the key details - that way if you do decide to report an incident later in life, you will be more confident and certain of your truth .

"This also has a knock on effect with helping you heal and not carrying it with you for too long.

"The officers involved in my case were persistent in bringing the defendant to justice and constantly reminded me that the only person who should feel guilty is the perpetrator."

Caroline Horden, who managed the investigation, said: "Kamau put the victims through horrendous abuse and tried to run away from what he did.

"He put the victims through the trial and implied they were lying, only to then admit what he had done to probation services in a pre-sentencing interview.

"The victims have handled the entire investigation with dignity and maturity, and I really hope that this sentencing allows them to move forward."

Support for anyone in Essex affected by rape or sexual abuse is available at https://synergyessex.org.uk/.