PAEDOPHILE FROM TRANMERE JAILED FOR 18 YEARS AFTER ABUSE
A "sickening" paedophile put his victim through a trial before stating how much he enjoyed abusing her.Anthony Leonard, from Tranmere, began abusing the girl in 1986 when she was a small child.
The victim came forward in 2019 to police.
The 77-year-old Leonard was arrested and charged with 25 counts of indecent assault, pleaded guilty to nine, and denied the rest.
On 13 September, a jury at Liverpool Crown Court found him guilty on all counts and he was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment.
In a Victim Personal Statement, the victim said: “It feels like he almost primed me from an age where I didn't know any different from this and what a normal life should be.
The ripple effects of (his) actions affected me then and still haunt me now.
The impact of all of the above, there are no words for.
He stole my innocence and had a massive part in creating a little being that was fearful of telling the truth or asking for help.
He turned me into a lonely empty shell emotionally for so many years, which still affects me to this day.” Senior Crown Prosecutor Sarah Egan described Leonard's comments in court as "truly sickening" and emphasized his lack of remorse, noting his over thirty-year lifestyle of deception.
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