By Liam Coleman

A 'PREDATORY and ruthless' paedophile, formerly of Alveston, has been jailed for 15 years for sex offences.

Andrew Hocking, 57, was convicted at Lewes Crown Court, East Sussex, on Thursday, May 27 after being found guilty of seven counts of sexual assault over a period of almost 40 years. The acts were committed against four different children.

Three of the counts against Hocking, of Gorse Close, Copthorne, West Sussex, relate to indecent assault in the Alveston area on a girl aged seven in 1976 and 1977. He was found not guilty of one further count of indecent assault against her.

Two of the counts, one of rape and one of indecent assault, related to his offences against a woman who was then aged 12, at an address where he lived in Fareham, Hampshire, between 1982 and 1984.

The other two indecent assault counts were each related to attacks on two other women, one a girl aged seven in 1985, and the other a girl aged between six and nine between 1987 and 1990, all also at his address in Fareham.

Hocking has previously pleaded guilty to 11 offences of making indecent images of children between 2009 and 2011, and one offence of possessing an extreme pornographic image in 2011 in West Sussex.

Hocking was also served with a Risk of Sexual Harm Prevention Order (RSHPO) severely restricting his access to computers and girls under 16. He will also be a registered sex offender (RS0) for life.

During the investigation, which initially concerned the indecent images offences, detectives found records of the Alveston allegations, and further enquiries, together with media appeals, led to the three Fareham victims coming forward.

Detective Constable Chris Smith, part of the investigation team, said: "We acknowledge the victims' courage in being prepared to come to court and tell their stories.

"Even though we are used to dealing with paedophiles, Hocking stands out as cold, calculating, predatory and ruthless. Despite the strong evidence against him, he put the victims through the ordeal of having to recount their episodes of abuse. He has not shown any genuine remorse."