Pensioner convicted of raping girl 40 years ago
Cumbria PoliceA pensioner has been found guilty of repeatedly raping a teenage girl and indecently assaulting a second female more than 40 years ago.
Raymond Harrison, 73, was working as a farmer in Keswick, Cumbria, when he came to know his two victims, who he groomed with sweets and cigarettes.
He was handed a 20-year prison sentence in 2021 but his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal.
He was convicted of 13 sexual assault charges, including raping a girl, at a retrial at Carlisle Crown Court. He will be sentenced on Tuesday.
Jurors heard Harrison would touch the girls sexually when he was alone with them.
The prosecution described how he first raped one girl in a garage after pinning her to a stone wall. He continued to rape her multiple times during the course of many months.
He told her it was their secret and she should not tell anyone.
The court also heard Harrison indecently assaulted a second girl by kissing and putting his tongue in her month and by touching her intimately under her clothing.
Conviction following retrial
Neither girl felt they could initially complain but eventually made statements to the police in 2017.
Harrison was convicted of a number of charges and handed a 20-year sentence in 2021 but his conviction was overturned the following year.
He was the subject of a retrial at Carlisle Crown Court in 2023 and was found guilty of three indecent assault charges and acquitted of 13 other allegations.
The jury could not reach a verdict on 10 additional charges, which then became the subject of the trial held this month.
He denied four charges of rape of a girl, two charges alleging indecency with the same child - who the 2023 jury concluded he indecently assaulted - and four indecent assault charges relating to the second girl.
After deliberating for 12-and-a-half hours, the jury unanimously found him guilty of all charges.
Harrison was remanded in custody until his sentencing on Tuesday.
The judge said Harrison was now subject to notification requirements which include signing the sex offender register.