Adam North 42

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Two abuse victims have bravely spoken of the heartbreaking toll their jailed attacker's deviant behaviour has had on their lives.

Standing in the witness box at Canterbury Crown Court, one described how they feared paedophile Adam North would "always haunt" them and that just hearing his name "sent a shiver" down their spine.

Another said they "struggled" every day and tragically wished they were no longer alive.

North, of The Street, in Willesborough, Ashford, was unanimously convicted by a jury in June of multiple offences in respect of his "sexual, violent and cruel" conduct dating back more than a decade.

The 41-year-old had maintained on his arrest and at trial that the accusations were "in their heads", and the court was told at his sentencing hearing this week that he continues to assert his innocence.

But on jailing the child molester for 18 years in front of "supportive" family and friends sitting in the public gallery, a judge said he had been found guilty on overwhelming evidence of "perpetuating evil".

He also praised the victims' courage and said "victory was theirs" as their "spirit and dignity" remained unbroken.

Visibly upset in the hushed courtroom and choking back tears, they read out their impact statements in which they detailed the devastating and disturbing consequences of North's offending.

This had involved being molested and performing sexual acts and watching child and extreme pornography, said prosecutor Daniel Stevenson.

They were also physically assaulted and threatened so they would not report their ordeals.

One said they now suffered from PTSD, hallucinations, anxiety and panic attacks, and even described being "disappointed" to wake from a suicide attempt and thinking there was "no escape."

"This will be the last time I force myself to talk about what happened because the mere mention of his name sends a shiver down my spine," the victim told the court.

"I feel I lost a part of myself I will never get back. I hope one day he will understand the pain and suffering he has caused me.

"I dread the day he is released. I hope his time in prison is punishment itself.

"He will always be haunting my nightmares and causing me pain."

The second victim spoke of also being diagnosed with PTSD and developing a "self-destructive" nature.

"I don't care what happens to me. Sometimes I wish I'm not alive anymore because every day is a struggle. When I think about the future, I don't think I have a future," they told the court.

"This will be the last time I force myself to talk about what happened because the mere mention of his name sends a shiver down my spine...”

"I don't think I will ever recover. I feel like [the abuse] will follow me forever."

North has no previous convictions and as many as 13 character references were provided by his partner, family and friends for the sentencing hearing.

"They support him, are at court today to support him, and will continue to support him, notwithstanding the sentence passed," said defence barrister Toby Cadman.

Telling North as he stood impassively in the dock that he would have to serve at least two-thirds of his jail term before parole would be considered, Judge Mark Weekes said he had "wrecked" childhoods.

"All sexual abuse scars forever. That is the sad, inevitable and notorious feature of such offending. No sentence I can impose can restore their confidence, or undo the harm you have caused," he said.

"You grossly violated both. Both suffered in silence. I have read with concern and sadness the victim impact statements.

"It has left one broken and it is quite clear this has had a devastating impact on their life. It is clear too that [the second victim] has suffered enormously.

"And yet, for all that, the final victory in this case is theirs. The courage in coming forward to report you and give evidence against you shows that your abuse did not in fact break their spirit.

"It is clear to me that you wrecked the childhood of both. You grossly violated both. Both suffered in silence...”

"You did not and could not remove the dignity of either of them. On the contrary, both can have the comfort of knowing their evidence has been accepted and has been believed.

"Both can know that they have forced you to confront your dark past. Both are to be applauded for their bravery and coming forward in that way. It would not have been an easy step.

"Each delivered their moving victim personal statements in person to me today and it is clear to me that they are both, in their own ways, remarkable."

In adding that he hoped the sentencing hearing would help their "healing process", he also told North: "I hope that a small part of you, at some point in the months and years that follow, begins to accept what you have done and you begin to understand quite what terrible harm you have caused, and perhaps to reflect, and ultimately, to regret it."

On his release, North will be subject, as an "offender of particular concern" to an additional year on any licence period, and indefinitely to sex offender notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order.