I hope the beast enjoys jail, says rape victim as he gets 17 years
A VICTIM of rape and sexual assault has spoken out after her attacker was jailed for 17 years.
Martin Thorley, from Sale, repeatedly raped and assaulted the girl when she was aged between three and 11 and when he was a teenager.
He would take the then-child to the bathroom or his bedroom and abuse her, and then take her downstairs, giving her ‘sweets and ice cream,’ Manchester Crown Court heard.
Thorley, 45, was found guilty of two offences of indecent assault and three offences of rape following a retrial. The victim, now 35, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has spoken of her ‘overwhelming’ relief now that Thorley is behind bars. She said she felt compelled to report matters to the police in 2017 after coming across Thorley’s picture online.
Robert Smith, prosecuting, told the court that from 1990, Thorley began abusing the girl.
He initially began touching her
inappropriately on her genitals, he said. Thorley went on the rape the girl around Christmas time when she was aged five and he was 15, the court heard.
His barrister, Paul Treble, said: “The offending started when he was young and persisted until he was 21.
“It formulated in a pattern which was not addressed until he was 21.
“He was not fully developed and had not obtained full maturity, he was a young person and his judgement was not fully developed.”
Sentencing, Judge Anthony Cross QC said: “This is a serious and grave case, because of the taking advantage of the opportunity when it arose.” He added: “You have demonstrated no remorse for your actions.”
Thorley, of Broomville Avenue, Sale, was jailed for 17 years with an extended licence period of one year and was put on the Sex Offenders Register.
After the hearing, the woman told the M.E.N: “I’ve not done anything else with my time, I just wanted to see this through.
“Now I’m focusing on rebuilding my life, focusing on my daughter and myself and trying to have a normal life. I just want to move forward with my life.”
When asked how she felt about the sentence, she said: “I’m absolutely made up. I’m a survivor, and with what I’ve overcome, I’m just so proud of myself. I would encourage anyone in a similar situation to please come forward, you will be heard, it can happen. If I can go through it, anyone can. At the end of the day I can have all the therapy in the world, but I have had the power to stop him from doing this to someone else for the foreseeable future. I hope the beast enjoys prison.”