A PREDATORY paedophile has been jailed after luring a young girl to a farm shed and raping her.

John North, of Church Lane, Northallerton, was sentenced at Durham Crown Court today for historic sex crimes.

The Northern Echo:

The 68-year-old carried out the horrific attacks, as a teenager in the 1970s.

He appeared in court convicted of three counts, indecent assault, indecency with a child and rape.

While working on a farm near Darlington, he asked the girl to follow him as needed help inside a cow shed but once inside he sexually assaulted her.

He attacked the girl again a few weeks later in the same cow shed before raping her at a different farm in North Yorkshire.

North took her into a shed, pushed her over and then attacked her.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said: "When I was a child I was happy and care free until I was raped by John North. After this happened my life changed and the fear has stayed with me ever since. My marriage was fated by what happened to me as I had a lot of anger towards my relationship which resulted in my marriage ending.

"Since making the report to police and speaking out about what happened my mental health has suffered significantly, I have developed severe anxiety and had flashbacks bringing back the fear I had as a child when John North did things to me.

"John North took away my childhood. I've shoved things out of my mind for years but felt the time was right to tell my story now that I am an adult. I've felt every emotion since telling my story, I felt ashamed, dirty and embarrassed especially telling my family what I was going through.

"I'll never forget what John North did to me but I now will hopefully be able to get my life back on track knowing that justice has been served."

In mitigation, the court heard North pleaded guilty to all three counts.

Judge Adkins sentenced North to 42 months behind bars.

In March, North was jailed for ten years following a string of historic sexual assaults on children.

He was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The victim came forward after learning of similar allegations by young girls.