Peter James Edwards has been jailed for seven years after he blighted the lives of two young girls with a string of traumatic sexual assaults
A child abuser who blighted the lives of two young girls with a string of traumatic sexual assaults is behind bars for seven years.
Peter James Edwards, 46, has finally been brought to justice after he molested two pre-teenage girls more than a decade ago.
Judge Peter Bowers said Edwards caused long-lasting psychological damage to the two girls, now young women.
He added: "The repercussions of this sort of assault are far more serious than the public will realise.
"It blights their lives. It blights their relationships. It blights their school lives.
"They'll have to bear those scars for a very long time. My sentence will have to reflect that."
One of the girls said Edwards stopped her from leaving him until "he got what he wanted", Teesside Crown Court heard.
His activities were reported to police at the time. Edwards was interviewed but not prosecuted.
Prosecutor Hilary Manley said: "It was felt at the time it was inappropriate to seek to interview such young children.
"The matter didn't go any further."
Edwards only answered for his crimes after they were reported again years later in 2012.
The two women who cannot be named for legal reasons, told of the far-reaching impact of the sexual assaults on their lives, relationships and education.
One said she became wary and scared of men, had nightmares and struggled to make friends.
She said in a statement read out in court: "I grew up thinking he'd gone to court and had been punished.
"When I found out he hadn't, I felt like I didn't know who I was anymore.
"I wanted him to go to court so that he could be punished. I always thought that he was a danger to children and I want people to know that.
"I hope I can move on."
The other woman said she became wary of everyone, especially men.
She isolated herself, drank to blot out her experiences and suffered anxiety, depression and low self-esteem and confidence.
She said she was scared of people knowing what happened to her because she was worried what they would think.
She was relieved when she broke down and told her partner, but "petrified" of coming to court and frightened she wouldn't be believed.
Edwards, of Broadway West, Redcar , was convicted by a jury of four charges of indecent assault and two of indecency with a child, which he had denied, after a four-day trial earlier this month.
Nigel Soppitt, defending, said Edwards was a "pitiful" man, not a predator who tried to snare or trap his victims.
He said Edwards came across as "naive, almost childlike" without guile or cunning, and accepted his convictions without bitterness.
He said Edwards became an outcast living a lonely life in a society which found him repellent after his crimes first came to light years ago.
"He's had a torrid time," added Mr Soppitt.
He said Edwards had a disease which led to an amputation to his leg, and asked the judge to consider a suspended sentence.
Judge Bowers said: "I cannot possibly suspend the sentence because of the number of offences and the effect that they've had on these two young women."
Edwards was jailed for seven years and given an indefinite sexual offences prevention order.
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