Original Saxon bassist Steve Dawson has been sentenced to six years in prison for repeatedly abusing a six-year-old girl in the 1990s. According to the BBC News, Dawson was found guilty on four counts of indecent assault of a child under 14 and was sentenced on Thursday, April 11.
Det Con Robert Heath, the officer in charge of the case, praised the victim for showing "extraordinary strength" in coming forward while noting that Dawson "thought he had got away" with his attacks.
"It is clear that his evil acts have remained with her throughout her life, and I hope this sentence goes some way to allowing her to move on from these traumatic events," added Heath.
Dawson played on Saxon's albums between their 1979 self-titled debut and Innocence Is No Excuse in 1985. Dawson was ultimately fired from Saxon in 1986 due to conflicts with the band's members. In 1996, Dawson and Saxon guitarist Graham Oliver formed Oliver/Dawson Saxon with ex-Saxon drummers Pete Gill and Nigel Durham. Oliver/Dawson Saxon released four albums between 2000 and 2012.
