'Monster' abused friendships with mums to sexually abuse their daughters

Prosecutor Anjal Gohil told Gloucester Crown Court Shaun Couling of The Green, Highworth, had become friendly wth a number of mothers in the Cotswolds town and that enabled him to get access to their daughters.

“The first victim was aged 11 and was the daughter of a woman friend and when he was in their home he got hold of the young girl’s breasts and bounced them up and down and warned her not to say anything to anybody,” the prosecutor said.

“On the second occasion he put his hand down her pants and touched her private parts, but did not penetrate her. She knows that on that occasion Couling had been drinking and he accepted in his police interview that he had probably been inebriated at the time.

“The second victim was another girl who was photographed in the family’s pool and had been wearing a white top that had become see-through. His photograph concentrated on the girl’s breasts and not her face.

"On August 28 2021 Couling sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl who was another friend’s daughter. The girl expressed an unwillingness to spend time in his company, but eventually agreed.

“He plied her with gin while he stroked her legs in a sexual manner while they were sitting on a sofa together. This lasted for about half an hour and only stopped when the girl’s mother arrived home early.

“Couling basically abused the trust of his friends, the mothers of the young victims. He told both girls not to tell anybody about his sexual abuse with them.”

The court was told that following his arrest his digital devices were anaylised and Couling was found to be in possessing of large quantity of indecent images of children. There were 171 images of Category A (deemed the most severe), 237 category B and 1,070 images of category C.

In a statement the mother of the 54-year-old's first victim said: “My world has turned upside down. I didn’t believe it at first.

“My emotions go from being angry to feeling utter gilt that I didn’t protect my little girl. I hope to wake up from this nightmare soon.

“My home is not the sacred place it once was. Family times no longer happen as my daughter shuts herself in her room. I don’t know what to say or do.

“I have felt so alone during this process. There appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

“My daughter is brave, but she will not talk to me. I know deep down this situation is not my fault. I’m scared she will go off the rails if she doesn’t open up to somebody.”

The mother then spoke directly to her daughter and said: “I am sorry I have let you down as a mother. I will always protect you. I’m so sorry I let a monster come into our home. I will go to my grave blaming myself for what happened.”

The second victim’s mother said: “I feel betrayed. This has caused me to question my own judgement in that as a mother I got it so wrong.

"My daughter now has an obsession of locking all the doors and windows. She has also been suffering from nightmares. She still thinks that Couling placed cameras around the house.”

The third victim’s mother said she felt that she didn’t protect her daughter enough in front of Couling and that her daughter has never worn the clothing that she wore in the pool after she was shown the photographs obtained from Couling’s phone by the police.

Joe Maloney defending said: “You can’t lock people up forever. Couling may have an interest in young girls, but he has admitted his guilt to these charges.

“He has listened to my legal advice that because of the strength of evidence he pleaded guilty, saving the young victims given evidence at his trial.

“He was acquitted by a jury in a trial of a similar nature a long time ago. This charge shouldn’t be taken into account for this sentencing as he was found not guilty at this trial.

“Couling doesn’t wish to minimise his offending and he accepts he will be receiving a custodial sentence today. He is embarrassed by what he has done. There are measures that can be imposed to stop this happening in the future.”

Judge Ian Lawrie QC interjected: “Sometimes people are reluctant to concede their frailty. The court normally looks for somebody who recognises their wrong doing and is prepared to work with other bodies to make sure it never happens again.

“His pre-sentence report makes no acknowledgment of this. He has spent a lot of time minimising his involvement. The report is effectively an attempt at damage limitation.”

Couling pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual assault of a girl under 13 in the Cotswolds area, The sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl on August 28 2021. He also pleaded guilty to possessing 1478 indecent images of categories A, B and C.

In sentencing Couling, Judge Lawrie pointed out that because he was acquitted of a very similar offence in Hampshire in the past that he must be considered of good character for this sentencing hearing. But he added that the alleged offence there was identical in every circumstance and therefore he considered the defendant as ‘dangerous’ in the legal definition.

Judge Lawrie told Couling: “You have been before the courts before for a similar offending for which you were acquitted by a jury. As I have explained you are dangerous and your primary mitigation is that you pleaded guilty and that you didn’t subject your victims in giving evidence at trial.

"You need to be sentenced for a variety of sex offences. The pattern was the same in that you gained access to the girls because you were friends with their mothers.

"One of the young victims gave an account of two sexual assaults while you were in the girl’s bedroom and touched her private parts. Even though she said no, you ignored her and carried on anyway.

“You also told her not to tell anybody about what had been going on. It is clear from the text on her phone that you wanted to take things further. Luckily that never happened as she told her father what you had done.

“I think you targeted both victims and exploited your arrangements with the girls’ parents.

"You assaulted the second girl by plying her with gin in a bid to try and weaken her defences. It was clear what you were trying to do as you stroked the girl’s legs in a sexual manner for about half an hour.

“The girl felt pressured to take the gin and your activity only came to a halt because the girl’s mother arrived home early.

“Your explanation has little credit and you still fail to recognise what you did was wrong. Your actions showed signs of grooming.

“You still maintain you didn’t take the picture of the semi-nude girl in the swimming pool on your phone. You didn’t think it was inappropriate.

“I believe all your actions were because you have a fixation for young girls and were doing all this for your own sexual gratification.

“Despite your guilty pleas, you still have not confronted your offending. It is clear from the victim impact statement that both the victims are likely to suffer from long-term psychological impact.”

The judge sentenced Couling to a custodial term of four years and two months and extended his term on parole for an additional three years, which means he could be recalled to prison anytime until June 2029.

Judge Lawrie concluded: “I have extended the sentence because I believe you pose a risk to young children in the future.”

The judge placed Couling on the sex offenders’ register for life and made him subject to the terms of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

After the hearing, Detective Constable Ross Webb from the Gloucestershire Police Indecent Images Unit said: “The sentencing of Shaun Couling is welcomed and shows how hard we work to bring justice for victims.

“It doesn’t bring closure to his young but brave victims however it does allow them to close one door. Unfortunately they will never forget the horrible crimes that Couling subjected them to.

“I ask that that people respect the privacy and anonymity of Couling’s victims and their families by not speculating about who they may be.”

A police spokesperson added "If you have been the victim of a sexual assault we encourage you to report it to police. You can report via our website here: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/

"You can also contact the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) by calling 0808 800 5000."