Taxi driver rapist jailed for 13 yearsA TAXI driver trusted by the county council to take children to school has been jailed for a string of historic sex offences against a young girl.
Adrian Mills, who ran a taxi company in Corfe Castle, was sentenced to serve 13 years behind bars after a jury unanimously found him guilty of three counts of rape against a female under the age of 16, and two of indecent assault against the same victim.
The attacks took place between 1989 and 1992.
Mills, of Halves Cottages, made his victim relive her ordeal during the four-day trial after denying all the charges against him.
But jurors took just hours to convict him on all charges.
The 59-year-old headed up family-owned business Valley Taxis, responsible for taking scores of local children to their schools.
Following the case, the firm said that Mills had not been associated with the firm since October 2013.
Drivers must be CRB checked before beginning to work for the firm.
On the website, Mills had posted testimonials from customers – including a child who thanks him for the “chats and debates” they have shared.
A spokesperson for Dorset County Council said: “The safety of children of children is paramount to us.
“All of our taxi providers must go through rigorous disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks and quality assessments before they are allowed to drive children to and from schools.
“As soon as we were notified in September 2013 by the Police and Safeguarding Children’s Board of the allegations made against Adrian Mills, we withdrew authorisation for him to drive on any county council contracts and he has not worked for us since.”
A former acquaintance of Mills, who doesn’t want to be named, said he fears that there may be other victims still to come forward.
“Because of the nature of his job, it’s so worrying to think there could be other youngsters out there who might have been hurt,” he said.
“He committed these offences so long ago that you wonder what else he could have done to other children in that time.”
CHECKS NO GUARANTEE OF SAFETY Sharon Copsey, NSPCC head of service for the South West, said: “CRB checks – now known as Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks – came into force in 2002.
“It means that employers of people working with children now have a duty to put in place a range of safeguards for young people who come into contact with adults. As well as ensuring that there are clear child safeguarding policies, arrangements for supervision and codes of conduct, it also means that anyone working alone with children is checked for any previous convictions.
“But it’s important to emphasise that even with better checking, vetting can’t provide a cast iron guarantee that children will be safe with a particular adult.
“It’s just one part of good practice and no check will ever be a substitute for common sense, vigilance and an ethos of challenging concerning behaviour.
“It takes an enormous amount of courage for victims of sexual abuse to come forward. The NSPCC helpline is always available to help victims report abuse, whether it is recent or non-recent, on 0808 800 5000.”
http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/114689 ... _13_years/
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