January 2015 Brave child sexual abuse victim tells court of abuse – Offender jailed A brave survivor of child sexual abuse sobbed in court as she told a judge how the “harrowing” abuse she endured as a child has affected her entire life. The woman took the unusual step of reading out her own impact statement – and said: “Things have been so hard for 20 years.” She was a small child when Philip Leigh Rudd abused her in Darlington in the 1990s, Teesside Crown Court was told. Rudd sat emotionless in the dock as his victim wept while she bravely carried on reading her statement. She told Judge Peter Bowers: “My childhood innocence has been stolen from me and I will never be able to get this back. “While I feel relieved i was believed, I feel anger and upset I was made to go through the court process and relive these painful memories. “I was belittled and made to look like a fantasist by the cross-examination. It was awful and horrendous . . . the worst experience of my life.” Rudd, of Bridge Street, Brough, Cumbria, was found guilty of ten of the 11 charges of indecent assault and indecency with a child he faced. The 35-year-old construction worker, who still maintains he is innocent, was jailed for six years and put on the sex offenders’ register for life. The victim said she suffers recurring nightmares, and they got worse as the trial approached, and is now hoping therapy will take them away. Martin Towers, mitigating, said Rudd should be treated as a teenager in sentencing, as he was when he carried out the attacks. He told the court that he continues to have the support of his family and his partner, and hopes to get back into work after serving his sentence. Mr Towers said: “Young people have less ability to recognise the effect of their actions on others. They may not appreciate the consequences of misconduct.”