Man jailed for repeated historic sexual abuse of Sunderland child
A man who repeatedly sexually assaulted a child in Sunderland has been jailed over forty years after the offences took place.
Brian Harrison, now 66, repeatedly sexually assaulted the school-aged child at an address in Sunderland when he was a young adult.
After living with the effects of Harrison’s crimes for most of his life, the victim came forward and reported the assaults to police at the beginning of last year (2024).
Following the report, Harrison was interviewed by officers where he admitted to the offences.
In May this year (2025), Harrison, of Poachers Lane, Warrington, Cheshire, was charged with a string of child sex offences.
He appeared at Newcastle Crown Court in August where he pleaded guilty to six offences.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “These offences comprised of four counts of indecent assault on a boy, and two counts of indecency with a child – being that the offences occurred before the Sexual Offences Act was introduced in 2003.”
On Friday (October 10) he returned to the same court where he was jailed for four years and four months.
Harrison will also spend the rest of his life on the Sex Offenders’ Register and was handed a lifelong restraining order to protect the victim.
Speaking after the sentencing, the victim released a statement which said: “Brian Harrison preyed on me as a very young child.
“I have carried the secret which feels like individual embarrassment for over 45 years.
“It was only following my police interview that my experiences finally sunk in with me coming to terms that something I regarded as being a traumatic and adverse childhood experience was in fact repeated acts of sexual assault as a child.
“It is now time for Brian Harrison to carry the burden of his actions and for those who know him to see that he is a child sex offender, rather than the person he likes to portray.”
Detective Constable Wood, of Northumbria Police, led the investigation.
Speaking after Harrison’s sentencing, she said: “It’s incomprehensible to imagine what the victim has been through – having kept these crimes to himself for more than four decades.
“I am extremely grateful he bravely decided to disclose Harrison’s crimes to us, which allowed us to take action and finally put his abuser before the courts.
“I hope he feels extremely proud of himself, he’s finally allowed himself to get justice.
"I hope this case shows other people out there who may be in two minds about telling police that it’s truly never too late to start this process.
“No one should have to go through anything like this, and I'd urge anyone who has been a victim of any form of sexual offending to reach out, whether it happened yesterday, last week, or decades ago.
“There is no time limit on the support we can provide – we’re here for you.”
You can report any type of recent or non-recent abuse by sending Northumbria Police a direct message on social media or via the report it section on their website.
You can also call 101.