A ‘DESPICABLE’ paedophile has been jailed.

Philip Tomlinson has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of a string of historic sexual offences against children, some of which took place in Winsford and Northwich.

The 56-year-old was found guilty of three counts of rape of a girl under 16 and two counts of buggery following a week-long trial in June.

Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Kelly Mitchell said: “I am grateful for the sentence handed to Tomlinson who is now behind bars for his despicable actions.

“The two victims in this case have had to carry the horror of what happened to them for more than 30 years, and I commend their bravery in coming forward, especially as Tomlinson refused to take accountability and forced them to sit through the stress of a trial.

“As this case shows, we treat all reports of non-recent sexual offences seriously, with the wishes and needs of the victim as our main priority, and any allegations will be thoroughly investigated.

“Anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence – no matter how long ago the incident took place – is urged to come forward and report it to Cheshire Police on 101 or through our website.”

56-year-old Philip Tomlinson, of HMP Altcourse but previously of Leeds56-year-old Philip Tomlinson, of HMP Altcourse but previously of Leeds (Image: Cheshire Police)

In February 2022, Cheshire Police were contacted by a woman reporting that she had been raped several times in the 1990s.

The victim disclosed being raped on at least three occasions by Tomlinson, once in Winsford and twice in the North Wales area.

Police then received a further report from a male victim, who stated he had been raped by Tomlinson.

This second victim reported the offences took place in the 1980s in the Northwich area.

Tomlinson was subsequently arrested and interviewed in relation to the offences against both victims, but denied the allegations.

Officers then conducted a lengthy investigation to ultimately get charges authorised against Tomlinson, while supporting the victims.

Tomlinson, of HMP Altcourse but previously of Leeds, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday (September 23) where he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

On top of his custodial sentence, he is subject to asexual harm prevention order and required to sign the sex offender register.