87-YEAR-OLD 'MONSTER' SUBJECTED SCHOOLGIRL TO 'CAMPAIGN OF RAPE'
A pensioner has been jailed for a "campaign" of rapes and sexual assaults on a child committed in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.Terrence Hulme, now aged 87, first abused his victim when she was aged just two and continued to abuse her until she was in her teens, intimidating her into silence with threats of violence.
His victim described him in court as a "monster".
Cardiff Crown Court heard that it was not until the abuse was reported to police many years later that detectives found the defendant had also sexually abused a second young girl who had also kept her suffering silent for decades.
Hulme denied all the allegations against him forcing his victims to go through the ordeal of giving evidence.
In statements read to the court, the woman who Hulme subjected to years of rapes called her attacker a "monster" and "vile and depraved", describing how she had spent decades "suppressing the horrors of my early life".
In her statement the second victim said she had never found the courage to report what that happened for fear of not being believed.
Terrence Hulme, of Arael View, had previously been convicted at trial of 10 counts of rape and three of indecent assault when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
The offending took place at a variety of locations.
The woman who Hulme subjected to years of rapes read out an impact statement in which she described how she had spent decades "suppressing the horrors of my early life" and how the abuse still "haunts" her.
She described her attacker as a "monster" and as "vile and depraved" and said while the police had helped her to "fight back" through legal action against her attacker, the experience of the prosecution and trial had brought back all the experiences of her childhood.
She added that the strength of her family had helped her to find "closure and justice".
In her impact statement - which was read by prosecutor Tim Evans - the second victim said she had never summoned the courage to report the offending for fear of not being believed and had "suffered in silence" for many years.
She said when the police contacted her as part of their investigation she had felt "relieved".
Jeff Jones, for Hulme, acknowledged that a lengthy prison sentence was inevitable and said the submissions he could make to the court would only go to the length.
He said that "either side" of the period of offending the defendant had a "good and positive character", and had always been in work.
He said Hulme had a range of mobility and medical conditions which would make a custodial sentence more onerous to serve than would be the case for an inmate of average prison age.
Judge Daniel Williams told Hulme that the "grave nature" of his offending did not allow the court to act mercifully towards him.
He said the defendant had "waged a campaign of rape" against one of this victims and "routinely used violence" in the hope she would not report the abuse.
Hulme was sentenced to 18 years in prison, and will serve up to two-thirds of that period in custody.
He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.
After the defendant was taken down to the cells Judge Williams said the court commended the "courage and fortitude" of the women who gave evidence against their attacker, and he said the court wished them "the very best of futures" which they both deserved.
