Jail for Halesowen man who sexually abused two young boys

Andrew Fox was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Fox, 61, was found guilty of a series of offences against the boys, which happened in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The court heard how Fox inappropriately touched one of the boys and incited the other to sexual activity on separate occasions at an address in Oldbury.

Fox's crimes were only investigated in 2017 when one of the boys he abused, now an adult, came forward and reported it.

This led to Fox being called in for a voluntary interview in which he denied the offences.

However, he was later arrested in 2018 after being caught in a police operation speaking to what he thought was a 13-year-old boy online.

Fox sent multiple sexual messages and was arrested after trying to arrange a meeting between himself and the boy.

In his interview for this offence, Fox denied any sexual motive, instead trying to tell officers he was simply trying to mentor the boy and "act as a father figure".

For this, Fox was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court in 2018 and given a community order.

This conviction led to further witnesses coming forward, allowing officers to build a case against him.

Fox again tried to tell officers he either couldn't remember the offences he was accused of, or that they were false accusations.

Despite these denials, officers were able to build a strong case against Fox, leading to his conviction and sentencing for historic child sex offences including sexual assault, indecent assault and inciting sexual activity.

Fox was sentenced to six years in prison for his offences against the first boy.

For his offences against the second, he was sentenced to one year.

Fox, of Hagley Road, Halesowen, will be on the sex offenders register for life.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "We would urge anyone who knows or thinks they have suffered sexual abuse in the past to contact us and tell us your story. In doing so you could secure justice for yourself and others.

"We have a dedicated team of officers who investigate non-recent sexual offences.

"They treat all cases seriously and will investigate any reports they receive.

"If you think this happened to you, or you know someone else who it happened to, go to https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/your-options/child-sexual-abuse to find out more about your options."