Michael Tustin 35

Description

A paedophile plied his victim with Apple Sourz and and filmed himself raping her on a number of occasions. The abuse left the victim feeling like she "wanted to die".

Michael Tustin, 33, from Cardiff, began abusing his victim before she was a teenager and forced her to drink alcohol until she was intoxicated. The first time it happened she fell asleep and woke up in a confused state before being sexually touched and then raped.

Prosecutor Clare Wilks told Cardiff Crown Court that the victim, who has lifelong anonymity, blamed herself for the abuse, and Tustin would frequently apologise and say he would stop - but days later he would tell the victim he "missed her" and the abuse would continue. Over time, the victim drink more and more alcohol so she would not remember being raped and she shut herself off from her family.

The abuse came to light after the victim told her mother what had been going on and the police were called. Tustin was arrested and interviewed - but claimed it was the child who had initiated sexual contact before he denied having sexual intercourse with her.

However, examination of his phone resulted in videos and images of the victim being discovered - with some depicting Tustin raping the girl. Indecent images of other children were also found. The defendant, of Ninian Road, Roath, later pleaded guilty to rape. He also pleaded guilty to sexual touching of a girl under 13 and possession of indecent images.

In a victim personal statement, the victim's mother said her daughter was a "complete mess" as a result of the abuse and was struggling to sleep. She had previously been a high achieving school pupil with good attendance but this has been massively affected.

Her mum added: "I am worried about her education and future. She feels she doesn't want to live anymore and says she doesn't see the point in life. She feels (the defendant) is there watching her and feels he is breathing on her. She locks herself in her bedroom and has anxiety attacks and feels like she wants to die."

In mitigation, Ieuan Rees said his client was of previous good character and had a responsible job but has ruined his life as a result of his actions. He said the defendant was aware of the harm he had caused and had "voluntarily" reached out to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation to seek help for his issues.

Judge David Wynn Morgan admonished Tustin after he became emotional in the dock, saying "Sit up, the court does not feel sorry for you." The judge then added: "You have created and caused severe psychological harm to the complainant.... You subjected her to this course of conduct and her remarks in interview to the effect she feels guilty about it because she thinks she might have been able to stop it which she probably wasn't..... She's not responsible for any of that, you are."

Tustin was given an extended sentence of 18 years imprisonment, made up of a custodial element of 12 years and a further six years on licence. He will serve two thirds of the custodial sentence before he is considered for parole.