Groping pervert 'ruined woman's life' with persistent abuse in Wakefield 25 years ago
A pervert who frequently groped a young girl more than 25 years ago has been told he has left her with “lifelong torment”.
Richard Haycock, who was a teenager himself at the time, admitted assaulting the youngster on multiple occasions between 1998 and 2000.
Thr 44-year-old was given a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court.
Judge Simon Phillips KC told him: “She has a lifelong torment from the very grave wrongs you did to her when she was a child.
“She must have been terrified. For many years she was not able to disclose what you had done to her.
“You have conceded that what you were doing at the time was wrong.
“It has remained with her not only at the time of the offending. In short, you have ruined her life, that’s how she terms it.
“She has tried her best to block it out.”
The abuse took place in an outlying area of the Wakefield district when he would touch the girl’s genitalia. Further details cannot be disclosed to protect the girl’s identity.
She eventually mustered the courage to tell the police in 2020 when she gave a video-recorded interview.
Haycock, of Rochester Row, Doncaster, was interviewed by police and denied the offence.
He later admitted to two counts of indecent assault.
Haycock has two previous convictions, one for sexual assault on a female for which he received a community order.
Mitigating, Michael Collins said Haycock had suffered from depression and had thoughts of suicide. He pointed to him being a youth himself at the time.
Judge Phillips gave him a 15-month sentence, suspended for 24 months, 30 days of rehabilitation with probation and a three-month curfew order.
He was put on the sex offender register for 10 years and given a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) of indefinite length.