Description
A predatory paedophile who silenced his victim for 25 years by using threats of suicide as a warped form of 'moral blackmail' is finally behind bars.
Mechanical engineer Howard Grieve attacked the girl around 1999 in Poynton, Cheshire when she was a minor and he 44, but then vowed to kill himself if she went to police saying: 'I won't be here anymore.'
The woman eventually plucked up the courage to go to the authorities more than two decades on, but Grieve falsely accused her of faking the attack.
She was then left destitute and frozen out by relatives, and had to 'rebuild' her life both emotionally and financially, the court heard.
Despite suffering severe financial hardship, PTSD and other mental health issues including anxiety and depression, the victim gave a statement to police and bravely endured cross-examination in court to help convict her tormentor of one charge of indecent assault.
It emerged Grieve assaulted the victim in her home following a night out at the pub.
At Chester Crown Court, Grieve, now 69, and of Enfield, Herts, was jailed for four years after Judge Steven Everett branded him a 'selfish man'
The judge said: 'He was forever blackmailing her, threatening to commit self-harm, and suicide, whilst at the same time really controlling her. There was a lot of moral blackmailing going on and his behaviour destroyed her life, destroyed her teenage years and adult years and she suffered with complex PTSD and other mental health issues, anxiety and depression.
'She was seeking support, seeking therapy, there was self-harm, she regularly suffered from panic attacks, insomnia, stress, feelings of isolation, difficulties with relationships. She talks about how he pretended to be the victim. When she gathered the courage to make the complaint, he made false allegations against her.
'Financially that caused problems and she had to rebuild her life financially. The effects on her have been significant, there has been significant psychological harm. One can only hope that she will get some sort of closure. This is something she may well live with for the rest of her life.
'I do not wish to understate the huge effects it had on her. She is worried that he will track her down.'
The judge told Grieve: 'Your selfish desires have had a huge effect and you have ruined her life. It is clear to me that you have absolutely no understanding or empathy - it is all about you.
'You destroyed her teenage years and her adult life, giving her all sorts of mental health issues that she would have not have suffered otherwise.
'Her personal statements made truly awful reading. They are the longest and most detailed I've ever seen. They talk about the complex PTSD that she is suffering and other mental health issues including anxiety, depression, support, therapy, issues of self-harm, fatigue, and insomnia.
'She suffered stress, isolation and relationship difficulties.
'Right at the end when she had the courage to tell police you told a pack of lies about her. You wanted her to be prosecuted as some sort of smoke screen to prevent you from being prosecuted. But you were prosecuted and she had the courage to stand up to cross-examination. That would have made this so much worse for her.
'I saw you sitting in the dock rather smugly, thinking that you had pulled the wool over the jury's eyes. Well, they saw through you and rightly so. Even now she is worried that you will track her down.
'The very fact that she was not able to tell anyone for 25 years shows the psychological harm that she suffered. Because she has suffered so much psychological harm I am satisfied that she has suffered severe psychological harm.'
Earlier, Prosecutor Simon Parry said: 'The complainant's mother was at home clearly unaware of what was going on. In the aftermath the defendant told her that if she said anything "I won't be here anymore."'
Grieve's barrister, Justin Hugheston-Roberts, said his client continued to maintain his innocence and added: 'He will not cope with custody well. He is a man who has to face up to what happened at a point decades ago.'
Grieve was also made subject of a lifetime restraining order and will sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life. He will be barred from ever working with children under the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.