December 2013 23 years’ jail for Bristol man who denied sexual abuse of girls A MAN who sexually assaulted three girls over nearly three decades has been jailed for 23 years. Michael Bray was reported by one victim but she was persuaded to retract her statement, Bristol Crown Court heard. He met her again and continued the abuse, the court was told Bray, 54, of Attwood Drive, Lawrence Weston, denied wrongdoing but was convicted of abusing all three youngsters. In a trial which started on December 2, a jury found him guilty of three rapes and ten sexual assaults. Judge Graham Hume Jones told him: “You were not immature. “You did not admit the offences when they were first reported. “I take account of the harm done to the victims. “An aggravating factor is you continued to offend even after the first allegation was withdrawn. “Another aggravating factor is your persistent offending and the damage you have caused to the lives of everyone involved.” Bray was told to register as a sex offender for life and was made the subject of an indefinite sexual offences prevention order designed to keep him away from children. He was also barred from working with children. Judge Hume Jones told the court that one of the victims spoke up about Bray, but was “prevailed upon” to drop her allegations and Bray continued to molest her. The judge said: “I have seen an email illustrating the pain you have caused her and how your failure to accept guilt has brought the ordeal back to her mind.” The court heard that Bray also took advantage of another teenager. That resulted in an already-vulnerable youngster being damaged further, the court heard. Bray struck a third time, abusing a youngster who finally reported what he had done to her. The judge said: “She describes you as a totally selfish man who has disguised yourself as a caring man.” Bray’s mitigation was that there was no physical injury caused to his victims, the judge said.