Pensioner jailed for child rape

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A pensioner from Gwynedd has been jailed for eight years after he admitted raping a child.

Goronwy Roberts, 71, of Bangor, was in his 40s when he attacked the girl, who fell pregnant to him when she was a teenager, but the baby died.

His victim, now an adult, made a formal complaint to the police because she feared he would come into contact with other children, a court heard.

Roberts admitted sexual offences going back to between 1978 and 1985.

He admitted three charges of indecent assault, two charges of rape and gross indecency with a child.

Judge Christopher Llewellyn Jones QC sitting at Mold Crown Court ordered him to register as a sex offender for life.

Prosecution barrister John Wyn Williams told the court that Roberts' victim had not spoken about her ordeal for years until she decided to make the complaint.

Pregnant

Judge Llewellyn Jones said that the defendant had ruined her childhood and "used her for your own purposes."

He had twice raped her, the second resulting in her becoming pregnant, the judge said.

The defendant had also blackmailed her and threatened her to keep silent. The effect upon her had been devastating, he said.

A psychological report on the victim showed how she had faced "a myriad of distressing, psychological affects for the rest of her life".

Courage

"Effectively, you destroyed her," said the judge, who praised the victim for having the courage to make a complaint.

In sentencing Roberts, the judge said he took into account that the defendant was a sick man who felt that he would end up dying in prison.

But he told him that his victim would have to live in hell for the rest of her life.

Gordon Hennell, defending, said that there was no excuse for what happened and his client wished to publicly apologise to his victim.

In mitigation, he said Roberts had pleaded guilty, avoiding the victim having to relive her ordeal in a trial.