Vile Leeds paedophile left girl with lifetime of trauma after telling her sex abuse was her fault
He made sickening threats to rape her unless she lost weight
A woman abused when she was younger heartbreakingly told a court that she has carried a lifetime of trauma after her attacker made her believe it was her fault.
Robert Rodgers was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week after being found guilty of two counts of indecent assault on the woman when she was a young teenager.
Rodgers, who is now 63, remains defiant but was convicted by a jury after his trial in April.
His victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, bravely read out her impact statement during his sentencing hearing.
She said: “The abuse I suffered has affected every part of my life.
“It did not end when the abuse stopped.
“For many years I believed it was my fault. It was fed by fear, manipulation and silence.
“I carried that guilt into adulthood. I have spent many years in therapy trying to untangle that damage.
“It stole parts of my youth, my health and my peace of mind.”
The court heard that the abuse began in the mid 1980s when Rodgers was living in Leeds. He later moved to Scotland.
He would tell the girl that it was her that was making him carry out the abuse and made comments about her weight amid threats of rape.
Despite being convicted of just two offences, it covered multiple incidents of abuse spanning several years.
Rodgers, of Low Street, Banff, Aberdeenshire, has no previous convictions.
Little mitigation could be offered by his barrister, Andrea Parnham, because he remains in denial.
The judge, the Recorder of Leeds, Guy Kearl KC, told Rodgers: “It was a campaign by you against her. You took advantage of her.
“Throughout this you blamed her, a child, for making you act in this way.
“It was anything but her fault. The blame is entirely on you.
“You were simply seeking to ensure she did not report your activities. It has affected her for over four decades.
“You have shown no remorse or taken any steps to address your behaviour.”
He jailed Rodgers for six years, telling him he must serve at least two-thirds of the sentence before being considered for parole.
He was also put on the sex offender register for life.