Ex-bassist for classic heavy metal band gets jail time for sexually abusing 6-year-old

Stephen Dawson, the former bassist and co-founder of the British heavy metal band Saxon, has been jailed for sexually abusing a six-year-old girl 30 years ago.

Dawson, 72, of Rotherham, U.K., was sentenced to six years in prison on Thursday, according to BBC News. He had been found guilty at an earlier hearing of four counts of indecent assault of a child under 14 back in the early 1990s.

“[The victim] has shown extraordinary strength through coming forward and throughout the course of the investigation, resulting in Dawson spending a number of years in prison, Detective Constable Robert Heath, the officer in charge of the case, said to the Daily Record.

“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,” he added. “The result of this case demonstrates just how seriously we take these offenses. We hope this provides some encouragement that if you have been subjected to any offense, no matter how long ago it happened, to come forward and report it to us.”

The band Saxon formed in 1975 in South Yorkshire and went on to sell more than 23 million records, the BBC said. Their best-known songs include “Wheels of Steel,” “Princess of the Night,” and “747 (Strangers in the Night)”.

Dawson was fired from the band in 1985 due to arguments with the rest of the group. The character Derek Smalls from “This Is Spinal Tap” is reportedly based partly on him.

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