Victims came forward after reading press reports - and investigators admit there may be more

WHILE no more victims came forward during the trial of Ricky Stubberfield - or after the jury found him guilty of 23 offences - police accept there may be more women who have suffered at his hands... and they are ready to listen to them.

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In the wake of his sentencing, detectives who investigated Ricky Stubberfield's offences said one of the biggest challenges in ensuring the case came to court was the risk of accusations of collusion between the numerous victims and suggestions that police were ‘trawling’ for victims.

Det Insp Marcus Hodges, Senior Investigating Officer, said that after the publication of Stubberfield’s first court appearance in The Herald and on the PlymouthLive website, the case “became bigger very very quickly”, going from three victims to eight as five more women came forward.

Victims began to suggest other people they believed may have also suffered at Stubberfield's hands and investigators had to be mindful of issues relating to potential collusion - which could see defence barristers undermine the victim's accounts ~ and accusations of trawling for alleged victims.