Postman jailed for sexual abuse of girl
APOSTMAN who repeatedly sexually assaulted a child has been jailed for five years.
Alec Heaps, 53, from Stockport, was found guilty by a jury of subjecting his schoolgirl victim to years of abuse.
Charged with five offences of sexual assault of a child under 13 and one of sexual assault of a child, Heaps has protested his innocence throughout - forcing his victim to endure the ordeal of a trial.
But Heaps, of High Lane, was sentenced on Monday after a jury unanimously found him guilty.
As he was sent down by a judge at Manchester’s Minshull Crown Court, his sobbing family waved and blew kisses from the public gallery.
Earlier, it was heard how Heaps’ depraved abuse had left his victim ‘traumatised’.
For years she kept the abuse a secret, eventually confiding in a counsellor, then her mother - and finally the police.
John Savage, prosecution counsel, said it had impacted on ‘every aspect of her life’ both physically and psychologically, adding: “She had difficulty concentrating in the course of her academic studies. She still relies on anti-depressants. Her selfconfidence has been impacted and she has low self-esteem.”
Defending, Kay Driver described Heaps as a ‘highly valued’ family man and said he’d lost his good name and job as a result of his conviction.
Sending Heaps down for five years and ordering he be placed on the sexual offenders’ register, judge Recorder Paul Reid QC told him: “It’s plain that your victim has suffered psychological harm for a number of years as a result of your behaviour.”
Describing the impact as ‘overwhelming and profound’, he added: “You continue to deny the offences of which you have been convicted and you present a high risk of serious harm to female children.”
After the hearing, his victim, who can’t be named for legal reasons, told the M.E.N: “I am still shocked about what happened, it’s been dreadful.
“It’s had long lasting effects on my life and my family but now I feel like justice has finally been done and I can move forward from this dark period of my life.
“We didn’t want to go today because being in court for the trial was bad enough and I didn’t want to rehash those memories, it was a terrible experience.”