Private tutor obeten ovat jailed for child sex abuse

A private tutor who sexually assaulted three vulnerable young girls in their own homes during lessons has been jailed for 13 years at Southwark Crown Court.

Obeten Ovat, 48, of Balham, south London, exploited his position of trust to prey on pupils aged as young as nine while ostensibly teaching them maths and English over a four-year period.

The defendant, who denied all charges, was unanimously convicted by a jury of 13 counts of sexual assault on a child under 13 following a trial.

Sentencing him yesterday, His Honour Judge Nathaniel Rudolf KC imposed a total custodial term of 13 years, together with a 20-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and three indefinite restraining orders prohibiting any contact with the victims.

The court heard that Ovat’s systematic abuse spanned 2019 to 2023 and targeted three separate complainants, all tutored privately in their family homes.

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In the most serious case, one girl was assaulted on at least 79 separate occasions, with the offending escalating in frequency and severity.

A second victim, aged 11 at the onset, was required by Ovat to submit to hugs before each lesson commenced, during which he touched her inappropriately.

The youngest complainant, just nine years old when targeted, was touched once on the bottom during a tutoring session.

Prosecutors told the court that Ovat had instructed the children not to disclose what occurred and appeared confident they would remain silent, a calculation that held until one victim finally came forward, prompting the others to report their experiences.

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It further emerged that Ovat carried a prior conviction for two similar sexual offences against children.