August 2012 Sick paedophile from Widnes who threatened to kill children caged for 14 years A VIOLENT paedophile from Widnes whose reign of abuse culminated in the rape of a child has been caged for 14 years. Stephen St Clair, 55, of Eric Street, faced justice on Friday at Chester Crown Court where a jury found him guilty of 11 offences including sexual assault and incitement to commit a sex act. During the four-day trial last week, jurors heard that St Clair repeatedly preyed on a young girl while she was less than 12-years-old. An opportunist, he picked moments when no other adults were present to molest the child, carrying out a catalogue of sick sex acts. For years the victim remained silent, ‘terrified’ of her abuser who threatened ‘to kill her’ if she spoke out. Her agony was deepened when she tried to broach the subject with a woman and asked if St Clair had abused the older female. The answer was ‘what do you care?’ In a video statement to the court the victim said: “He battered me. I was scared of him. I was cared for… I’m scared of him still.” Another witness said St Clair was aggressive, drank every night and had held a gun at her head and threatened to shoot her. His victim eventually told trusted confidants who told her to speak to the police. One friend, after hearing of her ordeal, challenged St Clair in a pub and said ‘I know what you’ve done’. Relatives of the victim said her behaviour changed during the period of abuse. The victim said she has suffered mental health problems as a result and that she remains afraid of adult men. Judge Nicholas Woodward, summing up after the jury returned their verdicts, revealed that St Clair had 23 previous convictions for 53 offences, dating back to the 1970s. These included using a firearm while trying resist arrest, robbery, theft, burglary, possession of a firearm, assaulting a police constable and drunk and disorderly. Justice Woodward, who also branded St Clair a ‘tyrant’, said: “You abused your position to allow yourself to have sexual gratification with this child. “In the course of escalating behaviour you quickly moved from touching her to more serious activity. She was frankly terrified of you.” St Clair had denied the charges but admitted to owning a BB gun. The jury cleared him of one count.