David John Henderson jailed for sexual assault and rape of a child

David John Henderson

David John Henderson has been jailed for fourteen years and four months for sexual assault and rape of a child whilst he lived in the Heywood and Rochdale area.

Henderson (28/11/62), of Coronation Avenue, Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to one count of rape of a child, six counts of sexual assault of a child, one count of attempted rape of a child and one count of rape at Minshull Street Crown Court.

He is required to sign the Sex Offender Register for life and is subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Henderson’s catalogue of abuse started when he was around 17-years-old, when he attempted to rape an underage girl in Wales between 1979 and 1980.

The attacks continued for the next 18 years whilst Henderson lived in the Heywood and Rochdale area .

He repeatedly sexually abused four young girls throughout that time and in one case this abuse continued for more than a decade, starting when the victim was just five years old.

In 1982, Henderson raped a woman in his car after offering her a lift home in the early hours of the morning.

He drove her to a remote location and raped her, threatening to kick her out of the car and leave her unless she did what he wanted.

Detective Constable Diane Hancock, from Rochdale’s Child Protection Unit said: “Henderson is fully deserving of every single day of the sentence he received.

“He is a sexual predator who subjected his victims to numerous distressing attacks over the course of many years.

“I would like to commend the immense bravery of the first victim in coming forward and supporting the investigation. We were then able to locate further victims and with their help, we have been able to ensure Henderson is behind bars and cannot prey on any more young girls or women.

“Not content with causing such pain and misery in the young girls and women unfortunate enough to come across him, he then fled from the area and attempted to evade justice.

“Thankfully for his victims and the wider public, he is now being held accountable for his actions and will no longer be able to subject anyone else to the suffering that he has inflicted upon these victims, who were brave enough to come forward and tell police what he had done to them.”