Dominic Connolly prosecutes Brett Connell who was found guilty by a jury of sexually abusing his stepdaughter. Mr Connell has been sentenced to nine years imprisonment for the abuse. The case was heard at Maidstone Crown Court.
The tragic case led to his stepdaughter committing suicide just weeks after she had claimed she had been molested by Mr Connell.
The 16-year-old victim left a note declaring she wanted to ensure that he "rots in hell”.
The judge made the following comments when passing sentence:
“Whether there were other subsidiary factors which affected the balance of her mind, I am completely satisfied it was your conduct which was the principal reason that led to Georgia committing suicide. Her mother has lost one of her daughters. Georgia has lost her life because of you, because of the pleasure you sought to obtain.”
His stepdaughter, Georgia, killed herself, running in front of a train at Dunton Green station, on March 17 after Mr Connell was released on police bail.
"She left a note referring to how the stress from the current situation was too much to handle, and to ‘make sure that b*****d rots in hell for what he has done'," Mr Connolly told Maidstone Crown Court.
Her video recorded interview was played to the jury.
Mr Connell, of Clare Way, Sevenoaks, denied five charges of sexual activity with a child, but was convicted. He also denied 11 other sex offences unrelated to Georgia. He was convicted of eight of them and acquitted of three. Mr Connell denied all of the charges.
The jury of nine women and three men reached the guilty verdicts by a majority of 10-2.
He was sentenced to five years for the offences involving Georgia and four years consecutive for the other offences.
Dominic Connolly is an experienced criminal practitioner whose practice principally concerns serious and large-scale organised crime. He is a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Grade 4 prosecutor and is on the CPS rape and serious sexual offences list. Dominic is ranked in Chambers and Partners, as a leading individual in crime at the London Bar.
