Steven Halton 61

Description

A girl said she "didn't want to be here anymore" after being sexually abused by a predatory taxi driver.

Steven Halton molested two victims - both young teenage girls - in sickening attacks around 25 years apart.

His first victim, Girl A, came forward after his second victim, Girl B, went to the police and exposed the pervert's abuse against her.

The 58-year-old denied any wrongdoing, which forced both of his victims to relive their ordeals by giving evidence in a harrowing trial.

But he was found guilty of 10 counts of indecent assault against Girl A and four counts of sexual activity with a child against Girl B.

Halton, of Merlewood Avenue, Southport, today told Liverpool Crown Court that he still maintains his "innocence".

Judge Brian Cummings, QC, said the factual basis upon which he would sentence Halton was "one of which I am myself sure, having heard the evidence".

The judge said Halton abused Girl A on multiple occasions, touching her breasts, bottom and genitalia over clothing, forcibly kissed her, and on multiple occasions committed sexual offences involving penetration.

He said Halton "made her life a misery" in the 1990s.

Judge Cummings said Halton then abused Girl B in the last decade, when he groomed her and kissed her "insistently and in a manner that the jury rightly found was sexual".

He said this happened on four occasions, the second of which when he also tried to undo her bra and unzip her jeans, and on the third time when he gave her a lift in his taxi, put his hand under her skirt and touched her upper leg and groin area over clothing.

Girl B's dad made a victim statement to the court in which he said finding out what his daughter had been through was "devastating".

Frank Dillon, prosecuting, said the father referred to their lives being "turned upside down" and how the ordeal affected his family.

Mr Dillon said: "He feels bad that he perhaps misread his daughter's moods and had not understood them."

Judge Cummings interjected and said: "Well, parents always feel bad but for what it's worth, from my point of view he really shouldn't."

Mr Dillon summarised how Girl B explained Halton took "advantage of her" and left her suffering from "sleepless nights, bad dreams and trauma that is indescribable".

He said: "She went to counselling because she went through a stage of not wanting to be here anymore, when as she put it, she saw no purpose and was really down."

Mr Dillon said: "She was given money to keep her quiet, She says these memories will not fade, they will stick with her forever."

He said the abuse made Girl B feel "worthless and weak".

Mr Dillon said: "She still lies there sobbing into her pillow questioning why these events have impacted her life forever."

Girl A said she had struggled to live with what happened to her, which led to low self-esteem and a lack of confidence, and feared she wouldn't be believed..

The now adult woman said she also felt "guilty" that she hadn't reported the abuse sooner, because that may have prevented Girl B from being molested.

However, Mr Dillon said the blame didn't lie with Girl A and Judge Cummings said he repeated the observation he made earlier about Girl B's dad's views.

Girl A said she has problems sleeping, described being put through a trial as "unbearable", how she felt angry, and had to have counselling to rebuild her life.

The court heard Halton had a small number of previous convictions for dishonesty dating back to the period from 1985 to 1990.

Charlotte Kenny, defending, said: "Your honour will of course have noted the defendant's position. He maintains his innocence. That ultimately will be a matter for him and his reflection and hopefully there will come a point in time when there is at least an appreciation of the position and consequence.

"There is very little - and the defendant knows I'm about to say this - there is very little I can say on his behalf, he having entered into a trial."

Judge Cummings said Girl A had been "particularly vulnerable" and told Halton: "It's a serious aggravating feature of your case that there were multiple offences committed against the victim and there have been very significant lifelong ill effects on her, dealt with in the victim personal statement and dealt with also and movingly during her evidence at trial."

He jailed Halton for 15 years and told him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Halton must also comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order indefinitely.

Speaking after the case, Detective Inspector Paula Furlong said: "Halton continued to deny his offending meaning his victims were forced to endure a trial. I am pleased that he will now spend a considerable amount of time behind bars for his actions.

"I would like to take this opportunity to praise both of his victims for their courage and dignity throughout the whole of this investigation and hope that by seeing him sent to prison will give them some sort of closure and allow them to move on with their lives knowing he cannot harm anyone else.

"We are committed to protecting victims of sexual offences, and anyone who reports an incident to us will be safeguarded and supported throughout the investigation.

"Anyone that has been a victim of a similar sexual offence, is concerned for the safety of someone they know or suspects someone to be engaging in this criminal activity, should come forward and speak to us. We have a team of dedicated staff who will expertly and compassionately deal with your reports and we will do everything we can to bring offenders to justice."