Brave young girl, 5, felt ‘frozen and scared’ as vile man raped her

A brave five-year-old girl said she felt “frozen and terrified” when a 22-year-old man from Sheffield raped her.

Darrell Nelson, 22, of Meadow Head, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to raping a five-year-old girl and possessing indecent images and films featuring his victim. The young girl bravely admitted earlier this year that Nelson had carried out his sexual acts and an investigation was immediately launched.

Specialist officers who interviewed the girl were able to gather strong evidence that Nelson had abused her, leaving him with no choice but to plead guilty. Investigating officers described the story as “a tale from nightmares.” They heard Nelson scare his victim into not telling anyone about his actions and store videos of his abuse on his mobile phone.

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Nelson abused his victim in her bedroom in her own home – a place where she should have felt safe. During her interviews, she described to officers feeling “frozen” and “terrified”. Investigating officer PC Jane Guest, of the Sheffield Protecting Vulnerable People Team, said: “The little girl at the centre of this investigation has shown tremendous bravery throughout. She is a brave little girl.”

“No child should have to endure the heinous acts committed by Nelson and no family should have to live through them. I want to reassure anyone who has suffered sexual abuse or violence that we are here for the victims. We are here to make sure dangerous offenders are put behind bars. Don’t be afraid to speak out.”

Nelson appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday 15 July and was sentenced to 14 years and three months in prison, plus a further six years for dangerous offences, bringing his total sentence to 20 years and three months. He was also given a sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

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