‘He should stay in prison forever – because he will strike again’
As paedophile Craig Sweeney seeks parole after being jailed for kidnapping and assaulting a three-year-old girl, his victim, now 16, relives her ordeal and pleads that he is never set free. Adam Aspinall and Cathy Owen report
THE YOUNG victim of paedophile and kidnapper Craig Sweeney has described how she still has flashbacks to the sickening sex assault he subjected her to when she was just three.
Now 16, she is speaking out in a bid to block his attempts at freedom from his life sentence.
Sweeney was jailed in 2006 for the attack after kidnapping her from her Cardiff home.
He drove her to his Newport flat before sexually abusing her.
He was living there after being released early from a three-year sentence for indecently assaulting a six-year-old girl. His early release licence had expired just two days before.
After abusing her he fled across the Severn Bridge to England, attacking the terrified girl twice more on the way as her frantic family launched a search for her.
Now his victim fears anyone depraved enough to carry out such a vile crime on a defenceless toddler will strike again.
The girl spoke out as it was revealed the 38-year-old is preparing a parole application, 12 years after he was jailed for life for kidnapping and sexually abusing her for five hours before hurling her naked out of his speeding car and leaving her for dead.
It was a crime that shocked the nation.
The traumatised youngster, who we cannot name but will call Emma, told the Daily Mirror: “He should stay in prison forever because he will strike again.
“I just think that if you have done something as terrible as this, not once, but twice, and have admitted it in court, what right do you have for any kind of freedom whatsoever? It is very stressful to think we have to deal with the prospect of him getting out, life should just mean life.
“I often have flashbacks. I want people to know what this guy looks like, what he is capable of, people have to be warned that he is a danger to society and always will be.”
Emma told how she was shocked to hear about Sweeney’s bid for freedom but felt it was an opportunity to confront the pervert for the first time since he abused her.
And she believed she would be given the chance to say why he should not be released. But she claimed she has been told that cannot happen.
Emma said: “When the letter came I felt like I finally had the chance to speak with him.
“I want to confront him, I want to go to the parole hearing and stare him down but I’ve been told I cannot do that so I was left with a victim impact statement.
“I knew what I wanted to say, but I struggled to put it into writing. But it was frustrating because I was told I could not say what I thought of him, or whether I wanted him to stay in prison.
“All I could write was, ‘To whom it may concern, this is how I feel.’ But I was not allowed to say how I feel so I wondered what was the point? I wish I could be face to face with him, stare him in the eyes and just ask him ‘why?’”
Despite her tender years at the time of the attack, Emma said she still remembers key details.
She added: “Growing up I knew something bad had happened but as I became more aware I needed to ask questions to find out exactly what. I do have a good memory of what happened.
“I remember he told me to come outside and get in the car, I did not think anything of it.
“A three-year-old does as they’re told. I remember getting in the car and looking at my brother staring at me with a football in his hand as Sweeney drove off.
“I remember he took me to his house and assaulted me a few times. Then we left and drove away and then he tried to kill me.
“I remember him leaning over me, opening the door, and pushing me out. I did not know what was going on, I was just thinking ‘Why, why, why?’
“He left me naked at the side of the road. I still have scars on my head and stomach from that.”
Emma’s ordeal came to an end when Sweeney was spotted jumping a red light by traffic police officers PC Marcus Beresford-Smith and Sergeant Richard Moorhouse.
They chased him for almost 20 miles at speeds up to 100mph, not knowing the toddler was in the front seat. He threw her out before losing control of the car on the A4 near Hungerford in Berkshire.
Emma was found bleeding at the side of the road in sub-zero temperatures, asking the policemen: “Is the nasty man gone?”
The college student added: “I must only have been there a few minutes, it was pitch black, but then I remember a face standing over me. It was my hero, PC Marcus Beresford-Smith. He picked me up, put his coat on me and then I ended up in hospital.”
Sweeney was given life after a trial at Cardiff Crown Court. Judge John Griffith Williams QC told him: “You have shown yourself to be a thoroughly devious man. You kidnapped this little girl for your own sexual gratification. You subjected her to an extremely painful ordeal. It beggars belief.”
But his life sentence with a 12-year tariff sparked outrage. Emma’s family described it as an “insult”. And their anguish has been deepened by news of his parole bid.
Fighting back the tears Emma’s mother said: “The last 12 years have been a nightmare for me and my family. I wouldn’t wish on anyone else what we have had to cope with.
“Why should this man have any chance of ever getting out of prison ever again?”
The Parole Board said of Emma’s attacker: “We can confirm the parole review of Mr Craig Sweeney has been referred to the Parole Board and is following the standard processes.” The girl kidnapped by Craig Sweeney wants him to remain behind bars