Woman's dreams haunted by evil Wakefield paedophile who abused her for years
A woman who was abused by paedophile who threatened her into silence told a court: “I still don’t know who I am.”
Evil Michael Kirkaldy, 50, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court after being found guilty after trial of a string sex offences against the youngster in 1990s.
He was handed an 18-year jail sentence.
In a heartfelt statement, read to the court by prosecutor Jeremy Hill-Baker, the woman said she still suffers from flashbacks and nightmares.
She has been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, depression, panic disorder and an eating disorder.
She said: “I have so much in my head I do not know where to start. It’s been my whole life for as long as I can remember.
“I can’t refer to him by name. If I meet somebody with the same name I struggle to say it out loud.
“It’s like I still don’t know who I am. It’s been my whole life.
“I have frequent nightmares. I’m back as a little girl being abused by him. I dread going to sleep.”
The victim was just three when the abuse started and went on until she was 11. She cannot be named for legal reasons.
She was regularly abused by Kirkaldy who touched her and made her perform sex acts.
He told the youngster not to tell anyone, saying that nobody would believe her. At one point he grabbed her by the hair to “reinforce” the threat.
He later bought her a phone to keep contact, “almost treating her like sort of girlfriend or partner”, Judge Christopher Batty told the court.
He added: “She was a child. A very young child. She had no idea what you were doing was wrong but there came a time when she did.”
The court heard that the girl eventually plucked up the courage to tell her mother, but she didn’t believe her.
Judge Batty added: “How a mum can do that to her child, I do not know.”
But he said by that stage, Kirkaldy knew the “game was up”.
Kirkaldy, of Weeland Road, Knottingley, was found guilty of four offences of indecency with a child and two offences of sexual assault.
The court heard that he has learning difficulties, and is “probably” on the autism spectrum.
He was given a 16-year custodial sentence, with a two-year extended licensing period.
He was put on the sex offender register for life and given a lifelong sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).
Speaking after the sentencing, DC Sophie Green of West Yorkshire Police, who led the investigation, said: “I want to commend the courage of the victim in this case, who had the bravery to come forwards as an adult and report the awful sexual offending Kirkaldy subjected her to as a child.
“She has shown real courage through what was a complex and lengthy investigation. Her determination to support a prosecution and see this man punished has resulted in him being made to answer for what he did.”