A VIOLENT man convicted of attempting to murder his former partner and committing a string of sex offences against three young girls has been jailed for life.
Stanley Hill, aged 46, of Kensington Drive, Leigh, was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday of sex offences spanning 30 years, including rape, indecent assault and gross indecency.
He was convicted of raping one of the girls when she was 15 and of two charges of indecently assaulting her, four charges of indecently assaulting his second victim and one of gross indecency when she was aged between 12 and 16, and three charges of indecently assaulting the third girl when she was aged between 13 and 15.
He had earlier been convicted of attempted murder and two offences of witness intimidation in a separate trial at Liverpool Crown Court in March.
The jury trying him for the sex offences heard that two of his victims had tried to kill themselves, one leaping from a bridge a week before the trial.
Judge Roberts described the attempt to murder his former partner as "a planned, premeditated attack with a knife at night in a public street on a woman against whom you had a grudge".
The court was told that on the evening of December 29, 2005, Hill's ex-partner, Wendy Crooks, visited a friend's house on the Higher Folds estate in Leigh.
They left the house and were walking to a bus stop in Coronation Drive, when the friend saw Hill, dressed completely in black, coming towards her.
He rugby tackled Wendy Crooks and stabbed her repeatedly in the upper body with a knife. She screamed for her life and Hill ran away.
Det Insp Steve Crimmins, of Wigan CID, said after the trial: "Hill is a violent and manipulative individual.
"Society is a safer place now that he is behind bars. This is largely due to the courage shown by the victims in this case who have given evidence to the court despite years of abuse and intimidation."
Hill has been ordered to serve an indeterminate life sentence with a minimum of 11 years.
He was also disqualified from working with children forever.
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