Five teenage girls became victims of Jacob Agnew
Jacob Agnew is behind bars(Image: Humberside Police)
A serial sex offender who targeted five teenage girls during separate incidents has been jailed for five-and-a-half years. Jacob Agnew “took advantage of” the girls and he “maintained a sexual interest in teenage girls” over a number of years, Hull Crown Court heard.
Agnew, 30, of Holland Street, off Holderness Road, east Hull, denied a series of offences, including sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity with a child, and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, but he was convicted by a jury of offences involving three girls, after a 13-day trial.
He admitted four other offences of engaging in sexual activity with a child, involving two other girls. Those offences were committed earlier than the others.
Agnew was cleared of three other offences, including blackmail, and the jury was unable to reach a verdict on another charge. He admitted a separate charge of fraud between November 1 and December 5, 2022, involving dishonestly submitting a false reference for a job application.
David Godfrey, prosecuting, said that Agnew “took advantage of” a number of different girls over a lengthy period of time. “The defendant maintained a sexual interest in teenage girls,” said Mr Godfrey.
The earlier trial was told that the sexual offences committed by Agnew were “geared around his liking of teenage girls” but he “tried to present himself as a reasonable guy” while, at the same time, engineering opportunities with different girls, who were vulnerable. “He has lied to get himself out of trouble,” claimed Mr Godfrey.
“The defendant has been accomplished at talking his way out of sexual exploitation. He did what he wanted when he wanted.”
Mr Godfrey told the jury: “He lied to you. He played by his own rules. He did as he pleased. He knew best. He wants you to believe he is a good guy, who has been wronged.”
Agnew always had “an excuse or a clever explanation” for what he did. “He did it again and again and again,” claimed Mr Godfrey. “As he aged, the girls he fancied did not.”
Agnew was “distorting and twisting it to the police” but it was “not a fanciful vendetta” by the girls involved. “He has spent years and years talking his way out of the allegations,” claimed Mr Godfrey.
The court heard that Agnew claimed that all the allegations had been “made up” and that the girls were all lying. He did not give a motive for them supposedly doing this, the court was told.
The fraud offence happened after Agnew was suspended from a job. He applied for another job but he submitted a false reference as part of an application for the other employment.
He was successful in getting the job but he was told that he needed two references. He created a fake email address for a former colleague and, after he received a form to be completed to provide a reference for him, he did so himself and “purported” to be the colleague.
The reference spoke of him “in glowing terms”. He got the job but he was later “rumbled” and did not actually start it, the court heard.
Dale Brook, mitigating, told a sentencing hearing that Agnew did plead guilty to some of the offences. “As he had a trial in relation to a number of offences, there is very little I can say,” said Mr Brook.
“Obviously, he is going to serve a sentence of imprisonment.” Agnew still denied the offences heard at trial. There was, however, a “different side” to him and he helped and had caring duties for other people.
Agnew, who had been on bail, was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender indefinitely. He was given five-year restraining orders.
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