Sam Rudge 30

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A brave woman has told how her life was ruined by 'selfish' Sam Rudge after he took her virginity at a New Year's Eve party. The underage girl had been given alcohol before the incident, a court heard.

The victim suffered ill health and said what the then-teenage defendant, who is now 29, did to her “did not feel right”. The woman, who is from Derby, went to the police to report what happened to her at Rudge's hands.

Rudge, from Bewdley, denied the charges and only pleading guilty to sexual activity with a child on the second day of the trial. This meant she spent months worrying about having to face her abuser and give evidence. Her father read her hugely powerful victim impact statement to the court, DerbyshireLive reports.

In it she said: “Sam Rudge, you took away my innocence and you took advantage of my naivety. I was a child and I was physically and emotionally abused by you.

“Before I met you I was a happy person with a large group of friends and now I only have a small group of friends and only truly feel safe around my family. My life is constant flashbacks and I suffer panic attacks, anxiety and depression on a daily basis and have been diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

“I now have multiple locks on my front door and need sleeping tablets to help me get through each 24-hour period. Although my physical health is poor, my mental health is much worse.

“My parents constantly have to go out of their way to help me and by not admitting your guilt to the police I went through three torturous years (waiting for the trial). My life has been ruined by your selfish abuse.

“My life has been in limbo up until this point and I hope I will see justice. Sam Rudge, you thought you had taken my power away from me but you did not. I am much stronger now and I will make sure you never do this to another woman again."

Sarah Phelan, prosecuting at Nottingham Crown Court, said Rudge abused the girl when she was a very young teen. She said: "At a New Year’s Eve party she was given alcohol and they were alone in a room. She was a virgin and described how the room was spinning and that he had sex with her.

"There was no foreplay, she experienced pain and said ‘it hurt, it did not feel special, it did not feel right’. The prosecutor said years later, when she was an adult, the victim reported what happened to her to the police and Rudge, of Severn Way, Bewdley, was arrested.

She said he answered "no comment" to the questions he was asked in the interview but later pleaded guilty to charges of sexual activity with a child. He has no previous convictions of any kind.

Stephen Tettey, mitigating, successfully argued that his client, who has been diagnosed with autism, could be managed in the community rather than being sent to immediate custody.

He said: "In his letter he says he is very sorry for the damage he has caused to the complainant. His pre-sentence report concludes that he presents a low risk (of reoffending)."

Judge Jonathan Bennett handed Rudge a two-year prison term, suspended for two years. Under its terms he must carry out 175 hours of unpaid work, attend 55 rehabilitation sessions and a 43-day sex offender treatment programme.

He also handed him a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and placed him on the sex offender register, also for 10 years.

The judge said: "It has been suggested to me that you have shown some remorse but I’m not actually convinced by that. Mr Tettey has given me your letter in which you are a little self-absorbed telling me about your difficulties.

"The complainant has to be commended, she has come forward and told the police of the terrible thing that happened to her when she was young."