A former police officer who committed “utterly depraved and utterly wicked” abuse against two girls is likely to die in prison.

James Glendenning, 88, was jailed for 23 years for a string of vile sex crimes against the girls in Coventry in the 1970s.


One of his victims had originally gone to police in the 1980s, but she was “not believed”.

It was not until further complaints were made in 2015 that the case was revisited.

Some of Glendenning’s sickening offences were carried out while he was a serving PC with West Midlands Police.

Glendenning, who served with the Royal Artillery, left West Midlands Police in the 1970s following a 17-year career.

He denied one charge of rape, 10 counts of indecent assault and four counts of indecency with a child, but was convicted of all counts following a trial.

One of his victims wept as he was jailed at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court, reports the Manchester Evening News.

What was said in court

The court heard that Glendenning, now from Reddish, Stockport, threatened one of his victims with the cane if they told anyone about the abuse.

During one attack, one of the girls screamed in pain and begged Glendenning to stop, the court heard.

Judge David Stockdale QC, the Recorder of Manchester, told the defendant he didn’t have to stand in the dock because of his physical condition as he passed sentence.

“You committed grave offences of sexual assault…at a time when they were young girls. Your offences were utterly depraved and utterly wicked,” he told the defendant.

The judge said Glendenning “betrayed” the girls’ trust, describing his crimes as “utterly degrading”.

“The girls submitted to you because they had no choice,” he added.

“You now bring disgrace to your former profession as a serving police officer. It’s difficult to imagine a more gross betrayal of trust placed in you by innocent young girls.”

Glendenning’s two victims were forced to live with the memory of the abuse for 40 years, although one of them went to police in the 1980s.

“She went to the police but her account was not believed. That was devastating for her,” said the judge.

An investigation was relaunched after another complaint in 2015, the court heard.

Speaking directly to the defendant, The Recorder continued: “You meanwhile have lied and lied again.

“You lied to the police in the mid-1980s. You lied to the police in interview in 2015 and 2016.

“You lied to the jury over several days in the witness box. Your lies have now been exposed and the accounts of the two complainants dismissed by you as fabrication have been roundly accepted by the jury by their verdicts.”

Judge Stockdale said Glendenning’s two victims had suffered “appalling trauma”, describing their feelings of fear and isolation, as well as psychological problems, ill-health, self-harm and difficulty in forming relationships and feelings of guilt, described by the judge as “entirely unfounded and unjustified, but a reality nonetheless”.

“This is long-term damage which abuse of young children inevitably causes,” said the judge, praising the women for their “courage, stoicism and dignity”.

“It’s to be hoped after all these years they may now find a degree of closure,” he said.

The judge stressed that he was obliged to sentence according to law in the 1970s, adding that modern sentencing powers for sex offences had ‘increased significantly’.

He acknowledged that the 23-year sentence would mean the defendant would spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Earlier, Keith Harrison, defending, referred to the ‘extreme old age’ of his client and ‘diminished life-expectancy’ because of ill-health and infirmity as mitigation.

“He does not suffer from an immediate life-threatening condition, but as you have observed during the trial, he has real health problems which diminishes his quality of life,” said Mr Harrison.

The barrister went on: “He’s lost all he had in the outside world, accommodation, finances, where his life is one of life in prison. That’s the sad reality of his situation.”

Glendenning showed no reaction as he was helped from the dock down to the cells to begin his sentence.