Jail for man who 'preyed on woman in most disgraceful way' in Peterborough more than two decades ago

A man has been jailed for sexually assaulting a woman in Peterborough more than 20 years ago.

Cambridgeshire Police said Ben Loasby, 43, attacked the woman in the early 2000s in his car in Peterborough.

In 2019, the victim reported what happened to police and Loasby was interviewed.

Due to the law at the time, he was charged with the offence of indecent assault, although police said it would now be classified as rape.

Loasby denied the offence but was found guilty in December following a trial at Cambridge Crown Court.

On Tuesday (7 February) at the same court, Loasby, of The Lovells, Wisbech, was jailed for four-and-a-half years. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

DC Mat Bamford, from Cambridgeshire Police said: “Loasby gained the victim’s trust and then preyed on her in the most disgraceful way.

“I would like to commend the victim for coming forward to report what happened and for her continued bravery throughout the court process.”

DC Daniel Yip, who also investigated, added: “This case shows that time is not a barrier to prosecuting perpetrators of sexual offences and I would encourage any survivors of abuse to report what happened to police.

“Bringing perpetrators of sexual offences to justice is one of our priorities and we will work with survivors of abuse to do all we can to offer them support.”

For more information and support concerning sexual offences, or to make a report, visit Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s rape and sexual assault advice pages.