‘Monster’ paedophile sexually abused his niece and nephews
A “MONSTER” uncle abused his position of trust to sexually abuse his niece and nephews when they were young children.
Paedophile John Bodycombe was in his 20s when he abused the trio when they were as young as two, a court heard.
The 58-year-old, of Bridgend, was found guilty of 14 counts of indecent assault after initially denying any wrongdoing.
Once the verdicts were returned he partially admitted the sexual abuse he carried out.
His victims, Helen Pearce and her brothers David and Andrew Pearce, have courageously waived their right to anonymity to encourage other victims of sexual assault to come forward.
On Monday, Newport Crown Court heard Bodycombe was in his early 20s when he began abusing his sister’s children in 1977.
The majority of the abuse was carried out when the three siblings visited their grandparents in Blaengwynfi, in Neath Port Talbot, as well as at their family home in Maesteg, Bridgend.
In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecutor Janet McDonald, Helen, who was present at the hearing with the partner Matthew, said her first memory was of being inappropriately touched by Bodycombe at the age of two or three years old. His abuse of her did not stop until she was eight years old.
Helen, 42, of Maesteg, said: “As a child I was referred to as being miserable and told to smile more but no wonder I was miserable. It was a very confusing time.
“I really loved my uncle John but now I feel nothing but hate for him. It makes me feel sick to think I loved a man who preyed on a child. I was so confused I thought I would marry him.
“When I got older I felt dirty and rude and the realisation my uncle sexually abused me had an impact on my self-confidence, self-respect and self-esteem.
“I went off the rails and didn’t care what happened to me. I entered into an abusive relationship where my partner was controlling and he abused me emotionally and physically.”
Helen found love with her partner Matthew and has three children but after the birth of her daughter a chance meeting with Bodycombe led to a breakdown and suicide attempt in 2007 when Helen took an overdose.
She described it as a “cry for help” and it left her in hospital for a week but thankfully she made a full recovery.
In her statement, written in April 2017, Helen said: “In recent weeks I have felt low and found I didn’t want to go out at all. When my children are at school I crawl up under a blanket on the sofa.
“I want closure to move on from something that has affected me my whole life. I hate John for hurting me and my brothers – his own sister’s children.
“I hate him for denying it all when faced with the truth and for almost taking me away from my three children and Matthew.”
Andrew Pearce, 35, of Croeserw, Neath Port Talbot, was also the victim of Bodycombe’s predatory behaviour on three occasions as a young child.
In his victim impact statement he told the court his uncle’s sexual abuse had a profound effect on him.
It was an incident involving Andrew that led to Bodycombe’s offences coming to light when a chance meeting took place.
Andrew was with his wife and child when he saw Bodycombe with another couple and their child. After he saw the defendant looking at a child inappropriately he confronted him and told him who he was. He later contacted the police and told them about the abuse had suffered.
As a result of this meeting Andrew was unable to return to his job as a prison officer after finding it too hard to work on the sex offenders’ wing of the jail.
He said: “What this man has done has devastated our family when he performed the ultimate betrayal by taking advantage of me and my siblings when we were just children.
“He left me with little to no confidence in my youth and it has taken me many years to get my life on track I am angry with what this man has done to me, my sister and my brother.
“He’s a coward for preying on young children when we should have been looked after by my uncle. I will never forgive him for what he did to us.”
He added: “I felt such a relief hearing the verdict, I’m still trying to process it and the last year has been difficult. I hope we can try and move on with our lives now that justice has been served.”
David Pearce, 44, of Pontarddulais, Swansea, also suffered at the hands of Bodycombe, who sexually assaulted him on one occasion.
In a victim impact statement read out to the court, he said: “It made me feel vulnerable, angry and confused. I had difficulty for years and felt very alone and couldn’t speak to anyone.
“I visualised things and had flashbacks and my anger would manifest itself in different ways. I would be irritable for unknown reasons.
“I am extremely over protective of my wife and daughter and I have trust issues in allowing other adults to be with her.
“When I was younger I saw John going into Helen’s bedroom and I keep thinking ‘ Should I have realised what was going on? Could I have done anything?’.
“The impact John’s actions have had on my family is immeasurable and I believe he is still a predator.
“I feel vindicated, relieved and satisfied we did the right thing coming forward after many years of suffering in silence.”
In mitigation, defence barrister Hilary Roberts told the court his client was of previous good character and could be of a lower culpability after being classified as being of low to average intelligence.
He said Bodycombe now accepted abusing his niece Helen but denied abusing Andrew and David.
Sentencing, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke told the defendant, who had to sit down during the hearing because he was shaking, that no-one was to blame for the sexual abuse which took place other than himself.
She said: “As is usual in most families your parents would look after their grandchildren regularly and protect them.
“When David and Helen were young they would regularly go to their grandparents’ overnight and at the time they visited overnight you lived at that address.
“To the outside world it would appear a close and loving family and indeed, apart from you, they obviously were.
“You took advantage of the closeness between the victims and their grandparents to abuse them over a number of years.”
Bodycombe, of Mandela Avenue, Bridgend, was sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison. He was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and he was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.
Speaking after the hearing, Helen said she was shocked but pleased with the sentence Bodycombe received.
She said: “For us it was about being heard and believed rather than the