Child abuser Andrew Evans from Crowborough sentenced to five more years in prison

A Crowborough man who advertised himself on a childcare website and sexually abused a young girl has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Andrew Evans, 40, is already serving more than 14 years for sexually abusing four children linked to two investigations in 2022. The latest sentence will run consecutively.

The court heard that in March, 2022, Evans advertised himself as a childminder on a childcare website and was contacted by a woman who hired him to stay overnight at her home and look after her two small children.

At that time Evans was on police bail while being investigated for a separate matter with conditions which included having no unsupervised contact with children.

On 20 March, 2022, he was seen in public with the children by a person who knew of his bail conditions and reported him to police.

He was arrested the next day, and subsequent checks of his mobile phone revealed indecent images of the seven-year-old girl he had been hired to care for. The victim later disclosed she had been sexually abused by Evans.

She and her family were supported by specialist officers while Evans remained in custody.

He was charged with two counts of assault by penetration of a girl under 13 and causing a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, without penetration.

At Lewes Crown Court on Friday, 10 July, 2026 Evans pleaded guilty to both charges.

Today (Thursday, 13 August), Evans was given a further prison term:

*Count 1 – five  years imprisonment plus one year extended licence. This is to run consecutive to his current 14yrs four months sentence which had a five year extended licence.

Count 2 – 40 months to run concurrently.

Evans has also been issued with a restraining order, to have no contact with the victim or her family.

The father of the victim told the court: “The hardest part is knowing that my daughter has to live with what he did to her.

As her father, I wish I could take her pain upon myself.  I cannot describe how deeply it hurts to know that I cannot change what happened or erase those memories for her.

“There is no question the man who committed these offences has not only harmed my daughter, he has changed me as a person.  I feel anger unlike anything I have ever known. It is an anger that comes from knowing that someone deliberately preyed on my little girl who should have been safe.

“Alongside that anger is heartbreak. I cannot stop thinking about what my daughter went through whilst under his care. 

The effect of his offences did not end when the abuse stopped. They continue every single day for my daughter, and they continue every single day for those of us who love her.

“This man’s actions have left permanent scars on my daughter.  They have also left lasting scars on me.  I believe I will carry the weight of his crimes for the rest of my life.”

Detective Constable Rebecca Wilde said: “Andrew Evans is a prolific child abuser who deliberately placed himself in childcare settings in order to groom and exploit young children.

“We acted swiftly as soon as we became aware Evans had breached his bail conditions to ensure he posed no further risk to the public.

“Evans is safely behind bars and, thanks to the bravery of his victims, will no longer have access to children.

“This type of offending causes lasting damage not only to the direct victims, but also to families and communities, and it will not be tolerated.

“If you are a victim of sexual offending or have concerns about someone else, please report to us online or via 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.”

A safeguarding referral was made to the childcare website which shut down Evans’ profile and fully co-operated with police.

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