A 57-year-old man from Llansamlet has been jailed for 25 years after being convicted of the historic rape and sexual abuse of two girls under the age of 16.
David Lake was found guilty in April of one count of rape of a female under 16, four counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14, one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, and one count of attempting to indecently assault a girl under 16.
He was sentenced today at Swansea Crown Court to 25 years in prison. He will be placed on the sex offenders register for life.
South Wales Police said the investigation was long and complex, spanning years between the original offences and Lake being brought to justice. The two victims, who were girls at the time of the attacks, are now adults.
According to the force, Lake’s offending was only halted when he was imprisoned for a separate matter — a detail the investigating officer said underlined both the seriousness of his crimes and the importance of the sentence handed down today.
Detective Constable Sioned Davies said the courage shown by the victims in coming forward had been extraordinary. “It took an unbelievable amount of strength and courage for David Lake’s victims to confide to someone else about the crimes he carried out upon them, especially with so many years having passed in-between,” she said.
“This was a long and complex investigation which has finally resulted in David Lake being brought to justice, and the severity of his offending is reflected in the size of his sentence,” DC Davies added.
“David Lake’s attacks on the victims were only stopped when he went to jail for a separate matter. With this sentence, we hope that his offending has now been stopped for good.”
South Wales Police said it hoped the outcome of the case would provide reassurance to survivors of sexual abuse that coming forward would be met with dignity, respect and support throughout the judicial process.
Anyone who has been sexually abused and is not yet ready to report to police is urged not to suffer in silence. Support services and further information are available at south-wales.police.uk.
