Simon Taplin, a former cadets leader, has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for historical sexual offences against two young girls. Taplin, 64, of Springfield Close in Lavant, was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on 3 June.

Taplin had been found guilty on 20 February of two counts of indecently assaulting a girl under the age of 16 at the same court. He faced an additional five charges of sexual assault of a girl under the age of 16 but was found not guilty by the jury.

The investigation began in September 2020 when Sussex Police received a third-party report alleging that Taplin had sexually abused a woman during her childhood. The victim, whose identity is protected by law, met Taplin at the cadets, where he exploited his position of authority to abuse her.

The first known incident occurred in 1996 when the victim was in her teens. Taplin continued his abuse over the next four years, taking advantage of his position to manipulate and assault her.

As the investigation progressed, another woman courageously came forward, revealing that she too had been abused by Taplin around the same time. She described how Taplin used his seniority at a cadet event to sexually assault her when she was a teenager.

In addition to his prison sentence, Simon Taplin has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life, reflecting the severity of his crimes and ensuring that he will be monitored closely by authorities

Detective Constable Jason Berney, of the Safeguarding Investigations Unit said: “I would like to express my gratitude for the bravery of the victims who came forward and gave evidence to police and in court.

“This bravery has secured Taplin’s sentence and it means a man who abused his power to take advantage of girls is now behind bars.

“I hope that any victims of sexual abuse are encouraged to come forward to report any crime or wrongdoing. We will investigate, no matter how long ago it was.”