November 2014 WHY was pervert set free from prison to start abusing me? asks victim Sitting in her home, John Armstrong Farish’s victim admits that her current calm is a long way from the dark place she was two years ago. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has accused Farish of Westfield View, Flimby, of abuse spanning a number of years, and says his destruction of her childhood innocence has haunted her every day since. The knowledge that her abuser was jailed for an almost identical offence on another child, only to emerge from prison and eventually assault her has only served to fuel her anger. In fact, the woman claims that Farish was abusing her at the same time as he must have been abusing the other little girl, but says she was never in a position to report it. While Farish has denied the majority of the offences, he has accepted that he sexually assaulted her twice when she was aged just 15 – offences which could only have occurred AFTER he was released from his prison sentence. Looking back on that time, his victim says that he groomed her into believing that what he was doing was right and good. “He had me convinced that no one loved me,” she explains. “He made me think I was special. What he was saying just worked… it made sense to me. “I was a mess and he made me feel ‘normal’. “It was mental abuse as well, he made me feel worthless and yet he was the only one who was nice to me.” The woman claims that two years ago, on October 21, 2012, Farish turned up to her house with his children and sexually assaulted her again. This is an accusation that he has also denied in court but, whatever happened, it proved to be the trigger point for his victim. “I was a mess,” she recalls. “I hit the drink and I couldn’t cope. That’s how it all came out – I couldn’t cope with anything else. “I was in a pretty low place, so everything came out and I went to the police.” Despite the horrors of reliving that childhood abuse, the brave woman – a mother herself – agreed to take the stand against her assailant and give evidence at his trial. Farish’s decision to plead guilty to some charges just days before his trial was due to start has left her with a sense of hollowness and disbelief, as she feels she never got the chance to tell the court of the impact it has had on her. Combine that with the way in which he was dealt with for his earlier offence, and the woman says she has been left with little respect for “justice”. “The system is a joke,” she claims. “Farish had to do a rehabilitation course when he came out – he said afterwards that he knew what to say, so he passed it with flying colours. “These courses don’t work – they can’t think that they do work can they? He came out of prison and then went on to assault me. “Sex offenders need to be watched a lot more carefully: they are always going to reoffend.” Despite her anger, the woman has admitted that the three year prison term handed out to Farish will at least provide her with some temporary relief. “It’s not enough,” she says, “but while he’s inside he can’t be doing it to anyone else. “He’s done this to two girls now. Inside, he can’t do it to another one.” In the latest case, Farish was originally charged with three counts of raping a girl under 16, four counts of indecently assaulting a girl under 14, two counts of gross indecency with a girl under 14, an attempted rape of a girl under 16 and of non-consensual sex with a woman. He pleaded guilty to two charges of indecently assaulting a girl under-16. He was jailed for three years for each of the offences, with the sentences to run concurrently. He has been placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.