My brave little girl’s put charity shop beast behind bars
Mum’s praise for abused teen who sent evil rapist snapper to jail
THE mum of a girl with learning difficulties who was the victim of sexual abuse has praised her daughter for coming forward.
Former charity shop manager David Wernham, 51, was last week jailed for seven-and-a-half years for raping and taking indecent images of the child.
He was caught when 565 pictures were found of him sexually abusing the 13-year-old, whom he had given gifts including toys, teddy bears and £500 trainers to.
The victim’s mother praised her daughter for saying that she wants to help others who have suffered too.
She said: “She’s been so brave throughout this ordeal and she’s seen it through to the end.
“When he was sent down I thought to myself, ‘My daughter did that.’
“She says she wants to help other people in similar situations.
“She says if she can do it, other people can too, and they’re not on their own. It’s not enough for the pain, stress and anger he’s caused my family.”
Wernham, also known as Collins, has hundreds of thousands of views on his YouTube channel dedicated to finding Scottish “relics”.
The Gulf War veteran met the girl while working in the charity shop Life in Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire.
Her mum had no suspicions until Wernham started giving her gifts.
She added: “It was only when he gave her a pair of £500 trainers that I thought, ‘Whoa, that’s not right, that’s stopping now’.
“Then she said she didn’t want to go to the shop. I asked if he’d done anything to her and she said ‘no’.
“One night she suddenly told me everything.”
After the girl and her mum went to police, Wernham’s Helensburgh home was raided and officers found 311 indecent photos of children.
They then discovered a folder on his computer containing a further 565 sick pictures of the 13-year-old, whom he abused between July 2015 and February 2016.
A number showed her being sexually abused by Wernham, whose face could not be seen in the pictures but who was identified by his tattoos.
The victim’s mother said the ordeal had “pulled the family closer” but said she can no longer trust anyone.
She added: “I look at people differently when I walk down the street.
“My daughter’s been very emotional throughout it all. One moment she’s laughing and the next she’ll burst into tears.
“How do you deal with something like that? I give her a cuddle and tell her it’s not her fault.”
A spokesman for the Life charity said they were shocked and appalled by the case.
He added: “At the time of his arrest Mr Wernham was not employed by Life. He left our company before we became aware of the incident.
“All necessary routine checks, as would be normal for the employment of people in the retail sector, were made.”
One moment she’s laughing. The next she’ll burst into tears VICTIM’S MUM