Former scout leader and soldier convicted of a string of sexual offences targeting children

November 2020

Student Oliver Cooper, 27, from Bognor Regis was recently found guilty at Lewes Crown Court of child abuse charges.

Cooper was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault on a girl aged six, one count of sexual assault on a girl also aged six, one count of taking indecent photographs of a child and 13 counts of voyeurism.

At the time of committing the offences, more than two years ago, Cooper was a Beaver Scouts leader in Horsham.

Following Cooper’s arrest, police officers found shocking images and videos of children getting undressed in private when they searched his phone and laptop.

During the hearing, Judge Mooney said the former Household Cavalry soldier showed a lack of remorse for his actions.

Cooper was sentenced to six years in prison and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, to last until further Court notice, which will severely restrict his access to children, and was also disqualified from working with children and vulnerable people for life.

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About

Marie Forbes is a Litigation Solicitor. She qualified in 2006 and is currently working in both our Southampton and Portsmouth offices.

Marie has the following areas of specialism: Historic Abuse, Contract Disputes, Professional Negligence against solicitors, architects, project managers, accountants etc, Intellectual Property disputes, Insolvency and Bankruptcy proceedings, Debt Collection, Enforcement of Judgments, Partnership Disputes Shareholder’s disputes and Defamation. Marie acts for both company and individual clients.

Marie was previously involved in a successful and reported case of Professional Negligence against a magic circle firm and has successfully settled numerous cases for termination charges on telecommunications contracts.