Leeds paedophile who targeted six-year-old told by judge he is a 'parent's worst nightmare'
A paedophile who singled out a six-year-old girl for abuse has been told he is a “parent’s worst nightmare”.
Richard Baldwin was jailed this week after admitting two counts of sexual assault against the youngster.
But the 39-year-old was accused of “prolonging the agony” by seeking to change his pleas to not guilty before he was due to be sentenced. His request was denied.
He was jailed for more than five years at Leeds Crown Court this week.
Baldwin twice sexually abused the child. On one occasion, she ran away crying.
The victim only disclosed what had happened years later and says she had remained silent in case he tried to come back to hurt her.
Baldwin admitted the offences, but then attempted to backtrack.
Under the law, the courts can refuse to vacate his original pleas if it finds they were entered into knowingly and voluntarily.
A victim impact statement from the girl, who is now in her teens, was paraphrased to the court by prosecutor Susannah Proctor.
She said: “What he has done to her was not just a crime against her body, but against her childhood, her safety and sense of self.
“She sometimes looks in the mirror and does not recognise herself. It affected every part of her life. Her life had changed forever.
“The scars are deep and feel like a part of her. She wants her voice to matter.”
Mitigating, Rhianydd Clement said despite having previous convictions, Baldwin, of Garnet Terrace, Beeston, has no sexual offences to his name.
She said he has spent much of his life “in and out of custody”, has anxiety, depression and PTSD.
He suffered a serious assault in 2011 when he was stabbed 22 times and had the top of his ear bitten off.
Ms Proctor said he was now clean from drugs, including the methadone he was taking to combat his heroin addiction.
She added that he had been in custody for 13 months already, but had been assaulted after other prisoners discovered the charges he was facing.
Judge Geoffrey Marson KC told Baldwin: “It’s a parent’s worst nightmare that a young child has been abused in a gross way as such as you abused her.
“It could only be because you have a sexual interest in children.
“She did not realise at the time what you were doing. When she became aware that it was not right, she feared you would come back.
“It will never leave her mind what you did to her. Her words that you stole her childhood could not be more appropriate.”
He jailed Baldwin for 63 months and activated six months of a 12-month suspended sentence which was not detailed in court, making a total of 69 months.
He was put on the sex offender register for life.