Norfolk 'monster' subjected four children to sexual abuse

Roland Wiles, 49, repeatedly raped, indecently assaulted and molested three girls and a boy - none of whom can be identified for legal reasons - between 1996 and 2022.

Norwich Crown Court heard the first victim was either four or five when she was raped by Wiles, who lived in a bungalow on a farm in the Norfolk area.

Norwich Crown Court (Image: Peter Walsh, Newsquest) The girl was in a "panic" and "didn't know what to do" after the rape in 1996, which signalled the start of a “catalogue” of sexual offending by Wiles against her and three other victims.

Patrick Upward KC, prosecuting, said the defendant's behaviour spanned over a period from the summer of 1996 until his arrest in April 2023.

He said: "His behaviour continued unabated over the whole of that period and stopped only after he was arrested and remanded in custody."

Wiles, of Mill Street, Norwich, was convicted of a total of 26 sexual offences against four children following a four-week trial which came to an end in July this year.

Roland Wiles at a previous court hearing (Image: Peter Walsh, Newsquest) They include six counts of rape - four against one female victim and two against a male victim - as well as three indecent assaults, six counts of assaulting a female under 13 by touching, as well as inciting sexual activity with children.

Judge Anthony Bate sentenced Wiles to a total of 25 years - made up of 24 in custody and 12 months on licence - when he appeared for sentence on Monday (November 25).

Judge Anthony Bate (Image: Newsquest) He said Wiles had lived an "outwardly respectable life" but "behind that facade lurked a deeply disturbing and darker side to your personality".

Judge Bate said Wiles had committed a "catalogue of sexual abuse" against four children over a quarter of a century.

He said Wiles was a "serial sexual offender" and branded the defendant "an offender of particular concern".

Roland Wiles (Image: Norfolk Constabulary) The judge paid tribute to the "courage of all the victims who came forward in this case".

Before Wiles was jailed the court heard moving statements from three of the victims.

One, who read her statement in court, said she had to terminate a pregnancy aged 15 due to the abuse she had suffered.

Describing Wiles as a "monster" who had caused "so much destruction and heartbreak" she said she had her "childhood stolen" for his “own sick pleasure".

She said she "did not deserve to be abused" or to "live with this trauma".

The male victim said he has "grown up knowing nothing other than the sexual abuse" he suffered and is "stuck in that place".

The victim said he "feels like a ghost" who struggles to "engage in life".

He said "every day is a battle" and finds “comfort and safety in isolation".

The victim said his mental health has deteriorated and he has "tried to kill myself" a number of times.

He said he felt "like a toy, something he  used to get what he wanted and then discarded".

Another victim said she would “carry shame, embarrassment and disgust forever".

Now a mother to a girl, she sees men as a "threat" and possibly a "paedophile monster".

Stephen Spence, mitigating, said Wiles had led a "relatively hard-working life".

He said Wiles has had difficulties and mental health issues.

He said he faced a “significant and substantial sentence" which would result in his release from prison as "an old man".

Wiles was put on the sex offenders register indefinitely.