Girl, five, sexually abused by babysitter’s brother
A MAN who sexually abused a fiveyear-old girl as a teenager “ruined her life” by touching her intimately and showing her pornography, a court heard.
Mark Stonelake, 42, was between 16 and 17 years old when he took advantage of the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, while she was being babysat by his sister.
The defendant told the girl he would let her play on a piano in his room if she would let him touch her and would also make her touch him and masturbate him.
He also showed her a group sex pornographic video and told her to keep what he was doing to her “a secret” between themselves.
A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Thursday heard the girl was taken to a babysitter’s house in the Aberdare area in the early 1990s, where Stonelake also lived.
Prosecutor Janet McDonald said: “She found herself alone with the defendant in his bedroom and he would lock the bedroom door.”
She said Stonelake touched the girl on one occasion and made the girl touch his penis on two occasions.
The barrister added: “He would promise her he would let her play on the piano. She didn’t want this to happen and one occasion stood up and went to the door.
“He would show her pornography, he would say she was a good girl and to keep quiet about their secret.”
The offences came to light more than two decades later when the victim contacted South Wales Police in July last year, having only just felt strong enough to inform them of what had happened to her in the wake of Operation Yewtree and the #MeToo movement.
Despite fearing that Stonelake would never be found or that he would deny the accusation, police were able to track him down.
After the court hearing, she said: “I needed to face my fear and face him to close a chapter on my childhood and I wanted to try and get it behind me once and for all.
“There were a million questions running through my head, like ‘will they find him?’ and ‘will he admit it?’ but fortunately he did admit it.”
Stonelake was arrested in December and initially claimed the offence amounted to him flashing the victim, but he later admitted touching her.
He said he “knew it was wrong” but presented it to the victim as a game. He admitted failing to remember a number of details but was aware of what he had done and regretted it.
The defendant later pleaded guilty to two counts of indecency with a child and one count of indecent assault.
In a victim personal statement read out to the court, the victim said she had found it difficult to describe the extent of the damage caused by her “childhood abuser” to her life.
She said: “I am reminded of what happened every day and any little thing can trigger a thought about what happened.
“The feeling of touching his penis is constantly with me. I remember thinking, ‘What five-year-old wants to know what a penis feels like?’”
The woman said she struggled to trust men, had a fear of being touched and had suffered from anger issues, depression and anxiety from a young age. She added: “I had my childhood taken away from me.
“I was a handful and took drugs as a coping mechanism.
“I have self-harmed throughout my life and tried to commit suicide on multiple occasions.
“It’s ruined my life and I believe I could have had a much happier life had this abuse not taken place.”
In mitigation, defence barrister John Ryan said his client was candid to police in his interview and was remorseful for his actions.
He said: “The age of the defendant and his immaturity at the time is relevant. He has never had intimacy with another person and remains to this day a virgin. The offences are a quarter of a century old and since then he has kept his nose clean.”
Sentencing, Judge Geraint Walters explained to the court he would be sentencing Stonelake to the permitted terms at the time the offences were carried out.
He said: “The victim’s statement is a familiar description of the effects of behaviour of this sort, especially when the victims are so young.”
Stonelake, of Heol y Twyn, Cwmdare, Aberdare, was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment and was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.
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