JAILED for 18 years: Walsall sex attacker
A registered sex offender has been jailed for 18 years after admitting further historic sex offences.
Christopher Astrauskas, aged 52, from Lindon Drive in Brownhills, pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault on a child between April 1998 and April 2000.
He had previously served three years in jail for indecent assault on a young girl in 1995 in Wishaw, Scotland. Following his release from prison Astrauskas moved to Walsall where he came to police attention as they searched for two missing boys in June 2014.
A tip off led officers to Astrauskas' flat and, although the boys weren't there, he was arrested on suspicion of grooming.
The boys were later found safe and well, however a search of the flat revealed indecent images of children.
Several potential victims were traced and one gave evidence of abuse she had suffered at a very young age at the hands of Astrauskas.
Detective Constable Allison Wilkins, from the West Midlands Police Public Protection Unit, commended the young woman on her bravery in reliving past events.
She said: "This young woman had suffered awful neglect, as well as physical and emotional abuse, as a child at the hands of her mother, who regularly left her alone when she should have had adult supervision.
"Yet this resilient young woman has managed to rebuild her life and ensure that her own children are protected in a way that she never was.
"Her testimony and the evidence taken from Astrauskas' flat left him with little option other than to plead guilty.
"It is evident that he is a danger to children, so it is some small comfort to his victim that he will no longer be a risk to anyone for a considerable time to come."
Astrauskas was jailed for sexual assault, indecency with a child and making indecent images.
Astrasuskas was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Wednesday and will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
The victim's mother was also sentenced to 20 months in prison at a previous hearing on January 26, after admitting child cruelty offences. Det con Wilkins said: "We have an excellent track record of bringing historic sex offenders to justice and I would urge anyone who has suffered abuse in the past to get in touch."
