Locations
Biggin Hill, Plymouth, Devon, PL5
Description
Dangerous and unrepentant paedophile Anthony Young, aged 71, drove the child to self-harm and left her suffering from panic attacks
A nudist pensioner has been jailed for abusing a girl - driving her to self-harm and panic attacks. Dangerous Anthony Young, aged 71, used his interest in naturism as a cover for his paedophilia, a court heard.
Unrepentant Young admitted sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in an incident not connected to his hobby. She told Plymouth Crown Court: "I was an innocent child and he used me for his own gratification and I hate him for what he has done to me.
I have daily flashbacks and I am afraid that these will never stop." The victim said in an statement read by a police officer that she had self-harmed in the past and was on medication for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Jailing Young for five years and four months, Judge Peter Johnson said: "You not only marred but you ruined that young girl's childhood and adolescence, leaving her with long-term problems. You do not accept what you have done. You certainly do not accept the harm which you have caused (girl's name).
"You pleaded guilty but that was not a true admission of guilty nor an expression of remorse, far from it. You told the probation officer that you pleaded guilty 'just to get it over with'. You concealed being a naturist from your wife. That was a cover for your interest in young children and indeed a cover for your paedophilia."
He ruled that Young was a dangerous offender, meaning he must serve two thirds of his sentence, or just over three and a half years. Most offenders are released at the half-way point. The defendant will remain on licence for a further four years, making a total extended sentence of nine years and four months.
Young pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the girl by penetration between October 2010 and December 2013. He admitted sexual activity with the child between October 2010 and January 2014. Young, of Biggin Hill, Ernesettle, also pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of a child in 2014 and 2015. The court heard there were 100 images with nine in the most severe category showing abuse.
The identities of all the victims and alleged victims of sexual abuse are protected by law. Mary McCarthy, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said that Young was acquitted of a serious sexual offence against a child at a trial in 2009.
She added that police were told about the sexual abuse of the second girl in January 2014. The court heard Yong denied any offence. Miss McCarthy said: "Unfortunately at the time it was not proceeded with."
The barrister said that Young made frequent sexual remarks and touched her sexually before the most serious offence. Judge Johnson said he had been grooming his victim. Miss McCarthy said that Young was arrested in May 2020 on suspicion of sexually communicating with an eight-year-old girl.
She added that that case was not prosecuted but police found the old images on his phone and reopened the investigation. The victim said in the statement: "When he started abusing me I was too young to understand that it was wrong. From such a young age I was afraid." She added that her panic attacks left her in tears, struggling to breathe and with a pain in her chest.
Michael Green, for Young, said that his client was open to sex offender treatment inside prison and then in the community. He also pointed to a delay in bringing the case. Young was also put on the Sex Offender Register for life and handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. It will limit his contact with children and allow police to monitor his internet use.