Gareth Turner, now 71, has been sentenced at Swansea Crown Court for abusing a young girl in the 1970s, after his victim came forward decades later. Turner, who had denied the abuse, was found guilty at a trial earlier this month and returned to the dock on Friday for sentencing.
Abuse in the 1970s
Turner was a teenager when he abused his victim in the Swansea area by getting her to perform a sex act on him and simulating sex with her, and then exposing his penis to her on a separate occasion.
In a statement read to the court, the woman said Turner had "stolen my innocence" and replaced happy childhood memories with trauma, anxiety, and shame. She said she had carried the burden of the abuse for decades, and that the defendant's denial of guilt and the resulting court case had compounded the deep-rooted trauma.
Victim's statement
Addressing Turner in the dock, she said: "Today that little girl with no voice has been given a voice. The guilt, shame, and stigma which was never mine to carry has been passed to you, the abuser, where it belongs."
Turner, of Tyn y Cae, Alltwen, Pontardawe, had previously been convicted at trial of two counts of indecency with a child and one count of indecent assault. He has no previous convictions.
Sentencing considerations
Robin Rouch, for Turner, said the sentencing exercise was "not straightforward" given the laws and sentencing regime that applied at the time of the offending.
Recorder Ben Blakemore said the abuse had had a "profound and long lasting" effect on the complainant. He noted that while the jury's verdicts were a public recognition of what happened, they could never truly compensate for the burden the victim had carried for decades.
The recorder said the sentencing exercise was difficult because he was bound to approach it with regard to the laws that existed at the time and the sentence the defendant would likely have received had he been dealt with then as a youth. Given the sentencing environment in the 1970s, he was satisfied it was "not at all likely" the defendant would have received immediate detention.
Turner was made subject to a two-year community order with a three-month nightly curfew. He will be a registered sex offender for seven years.
