Bristol man described as ‘monster’ sentenced after being found guilty of 30 offences, including raping a child

A 60-year-old man from south Bristol has been handed a life imprisonment for multiple child sex offences. Steven Sutton, of Redcatch Road in Knowle, appeared at Bristol Crown Court for sentencing today (March 23) after pleading guilty to 30 offences, including five counts of raping a child.

He was given a life sentence with a minimum of 13 years before he can apply for parole. He was also handed a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order. The court heard how between July 2021 and March 2022, Sutton groomed, abused and raped a young girl and filmed the interactions and stored them on his phone and computers. He would threaten her if she didn’t cooperate.

Sutton was initially investigated for downloading indecent images of children. It was when his electronics were seized that officers discovered the extent of his criminality. He was then arrested for rape and taking indecent images and further charges were added as officers discovered footage on his devices.

In a victim impact statement, the victim’s mother described Sutton as ‘a monster’, stating: “When the officers told me, the words to me felt surreal. I was numb. Life will never be the same again and it feels overwhelming.

“My child will never be care-free and running wild again. I hope that with years of support, we may get better. I will do everything I can to make sure [we] are okay, but it should never have happened. He has destroyed my family. He has broken us all in different ways. He has changed her life, changed her future and given her trauma that will affect her for the rest of her life.

“He is a danger to any child and to society. He doesn’t deserve to be free. But I want Sutton to know, he won’t break us forever. We will get stronger; we will get better.”