Locations
Woodhorn Drive, Stakeford, Northumberland, NE62
Description
A pervert who tried to rape one child and sexually assaulted another has been jailed.
Craig Robertson left the schoolgirls traumatised in separate attacks. His offending came to light when one of the children told a friend, who reported it to an adult.
Now the 31-year-old, of Woodhorn Drive, Stakeford, Northumberland, has been locked up for eight years, with an extended licence period of a further year at Newcastle Crown Court, after admitting the offences.
In a victim impact statement, one of the victims said: "It hurt me and made me feel fragile and I spent a big part of my life thinking I was in the wrong." Addressing Robertson directly in the statement, she added: "You used and abused me. You made me grow up too quickly. Justice finally being served makes me feel I can build a happier life."
The other girl said: "It's affected me in many different ways. It's made me scared around men because of it."
Jailing Robertson and ordering him to sign the sex offenders register for life, Recorder Tony Hawks told him: "The sexual abuse of young children is one of the most pernicious offences that can be committed because it causes untold harm, catastrophic harm to to those two little girls. It can affect a whole lifetime of a person who's subjected to it, which is why it's regarded as extremely serious."
Brian Mark, defending, said Robertson has Asperger's Syndrome and mental health problems and added: "He is remorseful and he is very clear about the harm he done, he has caused those children, these victims. He doesn't hold anything against the children."