A WEYBOURNE man has been sentenced to 18 years in jail after being found guilty of rape, two counts of assault causing grievous bodily harm and three counts of willful neglect of a child.

Anthony Burbridge, 44, of Lower Weybourne Lane, was convicted of the six charges when he appeared at the Central Criminal Court in London last week.

The offences took place in Farnham over an 11 year period between 1996 and 2007 and involved four victims, including three who were children at the time.

They came forward in 2016 to report the offences, which included physical and sexual assaults, neglect and psychological abuse.

Following a lengthy and complex investigation, Burbridge was charged with 12 offences and was found guilty of six of these following a three-week trial.

Temporary Detective Sergeant Leon Foster, who investigated the offences, said: “Burbridge exposed the victims, which included three children, to several years of abuse and control.

“The family lived in fear and this prevented those children from enjoying the happy childhood to which they should have been entitled.

“I hope that the sentence given to Burbridge provides some closure to the victims.

“I also hope that this outcome gives other people who have been or are suffering similar abuse the confidence to come forward, even if the offences occurred years ago, it is never too late to report.”

Other recently concluded cases at the area’s magistrates courts include:

* A 41-year-old from Upper Hale has been committed to prison for 24 weeks, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty to two counts of harassment and assault.

Guildford Magistrates Court ruled on November 1 that Zbigniew ‘Ziggy’ Molodziejko’s crimes were “so serious” that they warranted a potential custodial sentence.

It came after he admitted assaulting a man by beating him in Farnham on August 25, as well as the harassment of a woman in Elstead between May 1 and August 28, 2018, by sending “on a daily basis...a large number of text messages of a threatening and abusive nature”.

In addition, Molodziejko, of Eton Place, Upper Hale, was fined £200, told to pay £115 compensation and £85 costs.

Magistrates demanded Molodziejko must participate in an accredited programme for 30 days within a supervision period of 18 months, as well as a rehabilitation activity. A restraining order was also made, preventing Molodziejko from contacting the victim of his harassment until October 2020.

* A 49-year-old Farnham man has been disqualified from driving for 18 months after pleading guilty to drink driving while travelling with a child in the backseat of his car who was not wearing a seatbelt.

Andrew Masih, 49, of Castle Hill, Farnham, was also fined a total of £250, ordered to pay £30 compensation and £85 costs at Staines Magistrates’ Court on October 30.

It comes after Masih was pulled over in a Vauxhall Insignia car by police on October 11 on the A31 at the Shepherd and Flock roundabout and found to have 62 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, above the limit of 40.

Masih also admitted driving with a child aged between three and 14 years old while failing to use a booster seat or cushion.

* Andreu Marota Gonzalez, 27, of Juniper Close in Guildford, was disqualified from driving for 12 months, fined £323, told to pay £32 compensation and £85 costs after pleading guilty to driving an Audi A4 car while over the legal drink drive limit on the A31 Hogs Back in Farnham on October 13.