A 20-year-old paedophile from Derbyshire has been sentenced to a lengthy custodial term for the rape of a boy in a park and a separate sexual assault on a second teenager months later.
Details of the Attacks
Anthony Lanchester, of Stringer Close, Ilkeston, first attacked a boy who was walking home from a fair in 2024. The court heard how Lanchester grabbed his victim and dragged him to a secluded area where he raped him.
Despite being bailed by police following this offence, Lanchester went on to carry out a sexual assault on a second teenage boy in a different park in 2025. Both attacks occurred in the Ilkeston area.
Moving Victim Impact Statements
During the sentencing hearing at Nottingham Crown Court, prosecutor Daren Samat read out powerful statements from both victims. The first victim described feeling "dirty inside and out" following the violation.
"He feels like everyone is going to judge him and has made him feel run down," Mr Samat told the court. "He said all he wants to do is cry in the corner about everything and this has left him frustrated with life. He said he feels he is worth nothing and feels ashamed as a person."
The second teenager revealed he was scared of having to attend court and give evidence, as the process "brought it all back".
Sentencing and Lifetime Orders
Judge Mark Watson, addressing the first victim's statement during sentencing, said: "He says all he wanted to do was cry in the corner, he said he felt dirty on the inside but he has nothing to be ashamed of."
Lanchester, who was 19 at the time of the offences and had no previous convictions, was convicted by a jury of rape and sexual assault following a trial.
He has now been detained in a young offender institution for six-and-a-half years. In addition to the custodial sentence, the defendant was handed a lifetime sexual harm prevention order and was placed on the sex offender register for life.
In mitigation, defence counsel Tom Welshman described Lanchester as "perhaps a childlike man with certain childlike qualities" who was isolated and had witnessed domestic violence as a child. He acknowledged the statements showed "very serious offences which have had serious consequences".
