PAEDOPHILE WHO ‘REVELLED IN HIS VICTIM’S REVULSION’ IS JAILED FOR 20 YEARS
A PAEDOPHILE who ‘revelled in his victim’s revulsion’ has been jailed for 20 years after sexually abusing a child for over a decade.Victor Rochester, 52, of Pembury Road, London, appeared in Newport Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty to over 30 sexual offence related charges — including 15 rapes.
The offences took place between 1996 and 2007 in the Newport area and involved a child who was left in ‘constant fear’ of her abuser.
The court heard that Rochester left his victim feeling like it was ‘her fault’ and that she would ‘get into trouble’ if she told anyone.
John Ryan, prosecuting, said Rochester’s ‘abuse tactics’ had a ‘profound effect’ on the victim, who tried to commit suicide as a result.
The victim – who can’t be named for legal reasons – was abused from the age of five, with details of the offences outlined in a victim impact statement.
The statement said the woman now has ‘trust issues’ in relationships alongside an ‘inability to decipher friend from foe’, reoccurring nightmares and severe anxiety.
It added the woman used ‘disassociation as a way to cope’ and now ‘finds it difficult to spend time with children as she can’t relate to them.
A second victim impact statement – read out aloud in court by the victim – described the trial process as ‘traumatising’ and ‘exhausting’.
She added that her abuser changed his plea to guilty mid-trial was because he ‘had enough’ and described it as ‘holding up your red hands on a cliff when there is no other option’.
‘I never had an option as a child… I never got to take an easy option to endure less pain,’ she added.
Lucy Crowther, defending, said Rochester was using alcohol to cope with personal issues at the time of the offences and has since suffered a disability which ‘impacts’ on the way he will serve his sentence.
‘He is very sorry for what he has done and is sorry that he didn’t have the courage to admit it at a much earlier stage… he is ashamed of what he has done,’ she said.
Judge Daniel Williams described the abuse as ‘terrible’ and said Rochester ‘revelled in (his victim’s) revulsion’, sometimes ‘laughing’ when the child complained about the abuse.
‘When the trial became too intense you called time and that was not something she was able to do over the years,’ the judge said.
‘You claimed to be sorry for what you had done.
You were not sorry then and you are not sorry now.
‘Your indifference to her suffering was clear… It left her feeling isolated, un-trusted, suicidal and worthless.’ In an address to the victim and her family, he added: ‘The court wishes her the luck in the future that she deserves’.
Rochester was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment and must serve half before he can apply for parole.
The judge also imposed a sexual harm order prohibiting him from working with children and a restraining order against his victim.
He will be listed on the sex offenders’ register for the rest of his life.
