![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_JS262951293.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFrancis Wells, 81, will likely die in prison<\/p>\n
14:49, 07 Apr 2026Updated 15:24, 07 Apr 2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Truro Crown Court(Image: BPM MEDIA)<\/p>\n
A child rapist who showed \u201cno remorse\u201d has been jailed for 22 years after carrying out his \u201cbrutal\u201d abuse, a court has heard.<\/p>\n
Francis Wells, 81, committed the offences in Cornwall decades ago and will likely die in prison.<\/p>\n
Wells, of Back Commercial Street, Barnoldswick in Lancashire, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence on Tuesday (April 7) having been convicted of two rapes of a child, two indecent assaults and two indecency with a child charges.<\/p>\n
Prosecuting the case, Ms Bethany Rickerby allowed the court to hear the harrowing impact statements of Wells\u2019 victims, who bravely detailed the extent of the trauma he has put them through.<\/p>\n
One said: \u201cI hope it is recognised the life long and far reaching harm his choices have caused and I hope he can never inflict that pain again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defending, Mr Robert Smith stressed Wells would be turning 82 this month and that it is possible he is unlikely to ever leave prison.<\/p>\n
He asked the judge to make the sentence as short as possible for that reason.<\/p>\n
Sentencing, His Honour Judge Simon Carr described Wells\u2019 crimes as \u201cbrutal\u201d stressing the effect on his victims has been \u201cdevastating\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has influenced every aspect of their lives and the courage it has taken for them to come forward is noted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He noted the defendant meanwhile, has \u201cshown no remorse\u201d and has \u201cno insight\u201d into the harm he has caused pleading not guilty to the charges against him.<\/p>\n
Judge Carr said: \u201cYou have no insight into the harm you’ve caused and no care for anyone but yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wells was sentenced to 22 years in prison and will remain on the sex offenders register for life.<\/p>\n
Officer in the case, Police Staff Investigator Jo Wilson said: \u201cI would like to commend the victims in this case who were so brave in coming forward in the beginning and who then have continued to support the Police during what became a lengthy investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cDue to their courage in giving evidence, justice has truly been served culminating in the Judge passing a sentence that will, in all likelihood, mean the offender will never leave prison again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to reassure victims of historic abuse that you will be listened to, and we will do all we can to investigate and help and support you moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Support available<\/p>\n
If you have been affected by this article there is support available.<\/p>\n
You can visit victimcare-dc.org<\/a> to access support services and information on your rights and how to navigate the criminal justice system.<\/p>\n You can also call Victim Support on 0808 1689 111 or Devon and Cornwall Police\u2019s Victim Care Unit on 01392 475900.<\/p>\n Advice and support can also be found at:<\/p>\n National Rape Crisis Helpline<\/a> 0808 802 9999<\/p>\n Devon and Cornwall Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC) 0300 3034626<\/p>\n For more information please visit: www.dc.police.uk\/Rape-SexualAssault<\/a><\/p>\n If you suspect a child is in immediate danger from sexual abuse or exploitation call 999 now. If it\u2019s not an emergency please use the \u201cReport\u201d button on our website www.devon-cornwall.police.uk<\/a> or call 101. You can report child sexual abuse anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online https:\/\/crimestoppers-uk.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Francis Wells, 81, will likely die in prison 14:49, 07 Apr 2026Updated 15:24, 07 Apr 2026 Truro Crown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518101,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[924,59,57,58,180593,50,123919,180594,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-518100","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-crime","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-greatbritain","12":"tag-in-court","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-truro","15":"tag-truro-crown-court","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}