Jailed bath-snatch paedophile 'may never be released'

A serial sexual predator who snatched a six-year-old girl from her bath and raped her just two days after Christmas was today jailed for at least 10 years.

Pervert Peter Voisey, who was given three life sentences for abduction, rape and sexual assault, was told that he must serve a minimum 10 years before being considered for parole.

He was warned that he might never be released.

The horrific sex attack on the terrified youngster left the girl traumatised and a court today heard that with the anniversary of the December 27 attack looming she is plagued by memories of the fateful evening.

Judge David Hodson told Voisey: "I am in no doubt whatsoever that you are a dangerous predatory male who poses a serious risk.

"This is a most grave offence of kidnapping.

"This was a six-year-old girl being removed from her own bath in her own home and taken out into a cold night for the purposes of your sexual gratification.

"You will only be released into the community when the parole board considers it safe for you to be released, it may be that you will never be released but that is a matter for others."

Of the girl's ordeal, Judge Hodson said it was difficult to gauge what the long term effects might be.

He added: "It was the night after Boxing Day and the excitement of Christmas was over.

"She was, anyone might think, as safe as she could be in her own bath, in her own house.

"No-one would dream that she was in imminent peril of being kidnapped.

"You, however, were lurking in the vicinity on the look-out for the opportunity to burgle premises and, it seems to me, to commit sexual offences if the chance arose."

The judge said the victim would have been terrified after being snatched while playing with her toys in the bath and taken to Voisey's van.

"What must have been going on in that little girl's mind as you did that is impossible to say," the judge said.

"She must have been terrified, she must have feared for her life."

The judge then gave sickening outlines of the sexual offences Voisey committed on his naked victim before he dumped her 20 minutes later in a snow-covered back lane.

"She had been subjected to a terrible ordeal.

"Who knows what the long-term effects will be?"

The judge said he had read the mother's recent victim impact statement, which said the girl was worried about the approaching anniversary of the abduction.

"The shorter, darker and colder nights have reminded her of the ordeal," the judge said.

"She is wetting the bed, she is worried someone else might come to the house.

"She is awaiting counselling.

"Clearly there is a long road ahead for her."

The twisted 35-year-old sneaked in through the back door of the girl's home in North Tyneside, put his gloved hand over her mouth and drove her off in his dilapidated Vauxhall Astra.

He stopped twice to sexually assault the terrified youngster then dumped her in the snow-covered back lane near her home where she was heard sobbing by neighbours.

Voisey, also known as Smith, of Blyth Northumberland, had denied all of the charges but was convicted after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court in October.

At the time of the offences he was the subject of a Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement after serving a two-year jail sentence for indecently assaulting a vulnerable 12-year-old girl at a swimming pool in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in 2001.

In a pre-sentence report, prepared for today's hearing, psychiatrists referred to Voisey as "a high risk of harm in relation to children of both sexes" and having a "dissocial personality order".

Voisey had always denied abducting and molesting the youngster and after being sentenced to life the shaven-headed 6ft 2in paedophile mouthed at police: "You know I'm innocent."

Despite his claims the jury heard during the trial that Voisey's trainers matched a footprint left on the bathroom floor.

There was also partial DNA evidence linking him to the victim and mobile phone records showed he was in the area at the time, but he had told police he was with friends 20 miles away in Blyth.

After the hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Jim Napier, of Northumbria Police, said: "There is no doubt that Voisey is a serial sexual predator who preys on young and vulnerable children.

"Today's sentence should ensure he is not a danger to children for many years to come.

"The victim's family were also in court today and they tell me they are delighted at the length of this sentence.

"Importantly, I must pay tribute to the victim of this offence who, despite her age and the trauma she has suffered, proved herself to be a first-class witness.

"Her family should be proud of the way both she and themselves have conducted themselves throughout this inquiry."

Mr Napier added that the offence could not have been prevented even though Voisey was a known sex offender.

He said: "He was a registered sex offender and that is about reducing risk not eliminating risk.

"We could not have prevented this particular offence."

After the hearing, the family of the victim said: "We are very glad it's all over and happy that Voisey won't be released until he is considered to no longer be a danger to anyone but especially children."