Final four jailed in largest West Midlands child sexual abuse case

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Natasha Webb, Matthew Evans, Violet Griffiths and John Griffiths (clockwise, from top left) were sentenced on Friday at Wolverhampton Crown Court

Four people have been jailed for their part in a "depraved" 21-person child sex abuse ring in the West Midlands.

The abuse, involving seven children aged 12 or younger, took place over nearly a decade in Wolverhampton and Walsall, sparking the region's largest investigation of its kind.

Concerns came to light in 2014 after a hospital visit by one of the victims.

Matthew Evans, John Griffiths, Violet Griffiths and Natasha Webb were sentenced on Friday.

Webb, who was the only defendant to plead guilty to multiple child sex offences, gave evidence for the prosecution across the three trials, which began last year.

Her sentencing hearing was told she has a learning disability and was "easily manipulated and influenced by those who are more able".

Thirteen other defendants were jailed earlier this year at Wolverhampton Crown Court and four more were given non-custodial sentences.

Warning: this article contains information some people may find distressing.

Three years after the 2014 hospital visit, another child told a carer about the extent of the abuse, prompting the six-year police investigation, which West Midlands Police said was the largest it had ever undertaken.

The defendants' crimes involved a "prolonged and sustained" campaign that left children "terribly psychologically damaged", judge Simon Ward said.

Referring to one of the victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, he added it would take years for them to live a normal life because of the "depraved" abuse.

The same victim suffered psychotic episodes, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), he added, and tried to take their own life.

Other victims have also show signs of PTSD, the court heard.

'Shocked everyone'

Joanne Jakymec, chief prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, said the 21 offenders were guilty of "the most abhorrent catalogue of systematic sexual abuse".

"The scale, depravity and deeply disturbing nature of which is unlike anything I have seen during my time working for the CPS and has shocked everyone who has been involved in bringing them to justice," she said.

"The cruel abuse which they inflicted on the victims for years has caused them physical and extreme psychological harm, leaving them traumatised."

Of those sentenced on Friday, three were given jail terms of 15 years or more for numerous charges including child sexual abuse:

Matthew Evans, 32, from Bilston, was convicted of offences which included the rape of a child under 13 and was jailed for 17 years and six months with one year on extended licence, given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for 30 years and a restraining order to last until further order

John Griffiths, 67, of Bloxwich, was convicted of offences which included causing or inciting children under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity and was jailed for 17 years and six months with one year on extended licence, given a SHPO for 20 years and a restraining order to last until further order

Violet Griffiths, 67, from Bloxwich, was convicted of offences which included causing a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity and was jailed for 15 years, given a SHPO for 20 years and a restraining order to last until further order

Natasha Webb, 37, pleaded guilty to multiple child sex offences and was jailed for nine years and given an indefinite SHPO and an indefinite restraining order

A safeguarding review into the case was carried out four years ago but the group behind it said it would not be made public.

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