Depraved Leeds lecturer raped daughter for years and forced her to have two abortions

A depraved father who subjected his teenage daughter to years of humiliating sexual abuse has been brought to justice after more than 30 years.
Francis BeaumontFrancis Beaumont
Francis Beaumont

Former university lecturer Francis Beaumont, 79, was jailed for 20 years after being convicted of five offences of rape against Kim Chown.

Mrs Chown spoke out after her father was jailed in the hope it will encourage other victims of sexual abuse by a parent to come forward.

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She told the Yorkshire Evening Post she had chosen to waive her right to anonymity in the hope of becoming an ambassador for victims of similar abuse.

Kim ChownKim Chown
Kim Chown

She said: "I am one of the stronger surviving victims of childhood sexual abuse inflicted by a father of his daughter.

"Not many people in my situation get to this point in their lives.

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"Many take it as a secret to their graves, others take their own lives."

Kim ChownKim Chown
Kim Chown

'Forced to take contraceptive pill'

Leeds Crown Court heard Mrs Chown, now aged 53, suffered years of physical, sexual and psychological abuse at the hands of her father.

Jurors were told Beaumont, a university lecturer in histology, began the abuse when he took his daughter to live in Kenya.

Beaumont often plied the youngster with alcohol which led to her battling for years with alcoholism.

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Mrs Chown was forced to take the contraceptive pill by her father but twice became pregnant, resulting in her having to have two abortions.

Beaumont continued to abuse his daughter when they returned to live in Guiseley, Leeds, and raped her up until the age of 20.

Beaumont, of Brackenwood Green, Gledhow, Leeds, was found guilty of five offences of rape in the UK, between 1979 and 1985.

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Judge Tom Bayliss, QC, said Beaumont could only be sentenced for offences committed under English law, but described the abuse as "a campaign of rape."

The judge said: "You are an intelligent man and you knew perfectly well what you were doing.

"It was calculated by you to degrade her, to make your own daughter compliant to you and make your own daughter submit to your sexual demands."

Mrs Chown, who gave evidence at the trial, described how she was "petrified" of her father as he threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the abuse.

Threatened to dissolve her body in acid

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Beaumont threatened to dissolve her body in sulphuric acid dump her remains in the Kenyan bush if she told anyone.

She took the threat seriously as she knew he had access to chemicals during the course of his work.

Beaumont also kept a plastic carrier bag under his pillow and threatened to use it to suffocate her.

The jury found Beaumont guilty of a rape offence when his victim was aged 14 and was attending boarding school on the east coast of Yorkshire.

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Beaumont went to visit her then took her to a hotel where the sex offences took place.

The final offences took place at his home in Guiseley in 1985.

The trial heard Mrs Chown told her mother, by then estranged from Beaumont, about the abuse in the same year.

A report was made to the police at the time but Beaumont took her to a solicitor and made her sign a retraction.

Mrs Chown found the courage to go to police again in 2015 and report her father.