By Grâçia Ada Obi
A Sutton, United Kingdom (UK) teenager who raped and sexually assaulted five young girls in several attacks has been jailed for over 12 years.
Aiden Phipps, now 18, was aged between 15-17 years old at the time of the attacks on the girls.
Derby Crown Court heard that several of his victims had tried to take their own lives since their ordeals and the youngest victim was aged just 12.
Judge Jonathan Bennett told Phipps he knew “very clearly” that the girls were not consenting to his advances “but that didn’t matter” to him and his victims were “just objects.”
The court heard how Phipps, aged 15 at the time, forcefully raped a 12-year-old girl having pursued her on Snapchat and persuaded her to meet him.
On another occasion in 2023, he “dragged” a girl aged 17 into an abandoned area before having forced intercourse with her.
Prosecutor Dawn Pritchard described how every time Phipps’ victim tried to get up, he “pushed her back down.”
In November last year, another girl aged 17 approached Police about Phipps, telling them he had groped her sexually over her clothing.
Phipps, the court heard, committed several of the offences while already on bail, having been arrested and interviewed by Police for previous ones.
In a statement read out to the court, the mother of one of the girls said since the assault, her daughter had “shut down” and no longer left the house, going into “shock” when she saw a male.
The young girl had tried to take her own life in November 2022, the court heard.
Judge Jonathan Bennett told Phipps he posed a “significant risk of serious harm,” adding: “You have devastated the lives of these five victims and caused what for some will be irreparable damage.
“To hear the effect your offending has had is distressing to all of us who heard it. It has also had a huge impact upon all the families of the victims.
“Even when on bail you continued to offend. That is a particularly aggravating feature. All of these young girls made it absolutely clear to you they did not consent to what was taking place.
“You knew very clearly these young girls were not consenting but that didn’t matter to you – what was important to you was what you wanted.”
The court was told by Phipps’ defence Barrister that he had suffered a “very difficult” childhood having been fostered from the age of four and having been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.
However Judge Bennett told Phipps after reading a psychologists’ report he concluded the defendant posed “a significant risk” of committing further similar offences against young girls.
Phipps, now of Huthwaite Road, Sutton In Ashfield, admitted a number of offences, including rape of a child under 13, sexual assault, assault by penetration and assault by penetration of a girl under 13.
He was jailed for 12 years and six months and ordered that he serve at least nine years and six months in custody with an extended licence period of three years after his release.
He was handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.