A VILE paedophile has been convicted of sexually abusing four young girls over the course of almost 30 years in south Essex.

Charles Brown, 75, was convicted of multiple counts of indecent assaults against young girl after standing trial at Basildon Crown Court after the victims bravely contacted Essex Police in 2019.

The victims claimed that Brown, of Hogarth Drive, Shoebury, assaulted them between 1966 and 1994.

Brown was arrested and refused to comment to all questions whilst in custody.

On Tuesday, he was found guilty of five counts of indecent assault against a girl under the age of 16 and he will sentenced in January next year.

With the initial incident taken place 57 years ago, this conviction represents the “most historic” child sex abuse conviction secured by Essex Police across the county.

Det Supt Neil Pudney said: “This is the most historic investigation we have secured a conviction for and proves that there is no time limit when it comes to investigating sexual offences.

“Around a third of all sexual offences reported to us are non-recent and the detectives in our Quest team are dedicated and specialised in investigating these.

“It doesn’t matter how long ago it happened, these offences stay with their survivors, and we are committing to getting justice for them.

“I would encourage anyone who is a victim of a sexual offence but possibly hasn’t found the strength to report yet to get in touch with us. Even if you don’t want to report yet, we work with a number of fantastic support services who can provide tailored advice.”

Brown was initially charged with eight counts of indecent assault against a girl under the age of 16, however the jury only returned guilty verdicts on five counts.

The case was investigated by the force’s “Quest team”, which leads on investigations where the victim was a child at the time of the abuse but is now an adult.

Essex Police hopes the conviction will give victim’s confidence to come forward, no matter how historic offences are.

Synergy Essex provides specialist support for victims and survivors of rape and sexual abuse of all ages and all genders across Essex, Thurrock, and Southend.

For more information visit the Synergy Essex website: https://synergyessex.org.uk/