Robert Newsham: Man Sexually Abuses 9-Year-Old 400 Times, Says It Was A ‘Loving Relationship’

Robert Newsham (pictured above), a 78-year-old retired bus driver, has been convicted for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl and carrying on a “relationship” with a second young girl from the ages of 9 to 14.

Before he was sentenced last week, Newsham was described as “remorseless” by the BBC, adding that he believed girls were old enough to know whether they wanted to have sex at the ages of “13 or 14.”

He also advised the court that he would “remain a threat” if allowed to continue living among the public.

One of the assaults in question happened while Robert Newsham was a bus driver on a trip to Disneyland Paris in 1998. That’s when he sexually assaulted the 11-year-old and forced her to share a bed and shower with him, authorities say.

The other abuse involved a girl, who was only nine years old when Newsham began taking advantage of her. Their “relationship” would last for five years, and it would include as many as 400 sexual assaults.

To make matters worse, Newsham had prior convictions for sexual abuse going back to the 1950s and ’60s, and he had hundreds of “indecent images” on his computer when arrested.

Many people believe that a man like Newsham should never see the light of day after the first assault, but he has been able to avoid serious prison time, and the latest sentence could conceivably leave him still alive (though very old) upon release.

When processing the latest two convictions, the court decided to sentence Robert Newsham to only 25 years in prison.

The Mirror reports Judge Phillip Wassall found Newsham’s non-remorseful attitude “remarkable” and promised he would serve “substantial” time for his actions. More from Wassall.

“This type of abuse changes the lives of the children and the way they think and act when they become adults. It changes the way they interact with other people… You tried to portray your abuse of one of the girls as some sort of loving relationship and described it as a natural flow. It was a most remarkable piece of evidence and very disturbing… You could not see that it was sinister grooming of a vulnerable girl. You have no recognition that you are wrong. You are a dangerous offender who presents a serious risk to the public… You have no insight and are not capable of taking part in any intervention to challenging your attitudes and beliefs.”

Do you think the sentence for Robert Newsham is “substantial” enough? Sound off in the comments section.

[Image via The Mirror, linked above]