A pervert who sexually abused and raped a young girl when he was just a teenager has finally been locked up as justice caught up with him.

Stuart Jackson carried out a number of sickening sexual assaults on the young girl when she was under ten-years-old.

The 43-year-old’s offending took place more than two decades ago when he aged around 17, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Jackson, of Richmond Place, Thornaby, was found guilty of a catalogue of offences, including rape and serious sexual assault, following a trial earlier this year.

The father-of-two appeared in court via a videolink from Durham Prison to be sentenced for his horrific abuse of the young girl.

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Judge Chris Smith said: “You subjected your victim to sexual assault in a variety of different ways. The first episode involved multiple assaults and you second attack her was similarly multifaceted - both amounts to sustained sexual assaults.”

Dealing with the attacks, he added: “On that day she was subjected to a degrading and humiliating, sustained series of sexual assaults. The second incident is no less serious, this was of course a second attack on the same victim.”

The judge said Jackson used sex toys on the victim before raping her.

The Northern Echo: Stuart JacksonStuart Jackson (Image: Cleveland Police)

He added: “The physical pain you caused her left her struggling to walk. As a nine-year-old child she felt the need to destroy her bedsheets which were stained with her blood.

“Those physical injuries may have resolved in a relatively short time but the psychological harm cause to her has been long-lasting and profound.”

Jackson was locked up for a total of 16 years and six months and was issued with an indefinite restraining order to protect his victim and ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Judge Smith said: “With great dignity and real clarity, this victim outlined to the court the effect your offending had on her. How psychologically she was affected immediately as a young girl; how as she grew older, she suffered flashbacks; and how medication and counselling had brought only limited relief from the depression and anxiety caused by your offending.”

Speaking after the sentence was passed, officer in the case Detective Constable Francesca Siebrits, of Cleveland Police, said: “Despite the passage of many years, justice has caught up with Jackson and he now faces a prison sentence.

"While this cannot compensate the victim for the trauma she suffered, I hope it will go some way to helping her begin to move forward with her life and I wish her the very best.”

And Safeguarding Chief Inspector Deb Fenny added: “Anyone who has suffered abuse of this kind - no matter how long ago it may have taken place - can rest assured that we will do all we can to bring offenders before the courts.

"Those who believe they can prey on vulnerable children should realise that they will be dealt with.”

People can report any form of abuse, whether recent or non-recent to Cleveland Police at any time of day, via the 101 number.

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