KENNETH MCKENZIE OF REDCAR SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX ABUSE IN TEESSIDE

In April 2012, a woman recounted how her life was destroyed by Kenneth McKenzie, a Redcar man, who was subsequently jailed for seven years for abuse committed approximately thirty years earlier. The woman described how McKenzie repeatedly molested her and attempted to rape her during a campaign of violence and intimidation in the 1980s. She recalled that McKenzie, then a doorman and laborer, warned her she would not be believed if she ever disclosed what was happening.

It was only years later, when she recognized McKenzie caring for disabled individuals at a sports centre in his role as a carer, that she reported him to the police. Following this, a second girl, who was also abused during the same period, was interviewed, leading to McKenzie's charges for a series of historic sex offences.

McKenzie was convicted after a trial and appeared yesterday before Teesside Crown Court for sentencing, with his victims watching from the public gallery. One of the victims shared how the abuse led her into heavy drinking, drug addiction, and prostitution, describing her experience openly:

“Selling myself on the streets was nothing to me,” she said. “I had been a sex object from an early age and I didn’t see it as anything different.”

Judge John Walford, addressing McKenzie, now 54, stated: “It is impossible to know how things might have turned out for her had it not been for the way you treated her.” He also noted that the victims found the process of giving evidence during the trial in January traumatic.

The court heard that McKenzie’s home in east Cleveland was an “open house,” where parents felt comfortable letting their children visit him, perceiving him as a respectable figure. He was convicted of attempted rape, six counts of indecent assault, and two counts of indecency with a child. Despite his conviction, McKenzie maintained his innocence, telling police: “Maybe they had a crush on me because I was a good-looking bloke.”

During mitigation, Peter Makepeace explained that McKenzie, who had no prior criminal record, suffered from bipolar disorder at the time of the offenses. Psychiatric reports indicated he had “delusional ideas” and genuinely believed he was Jesus Christ. Mr Makepeace added: “By far and away more devastating for him is that he has young children, and his future communication with them is going to be severely limited.”