Child sex offender jailed for 17 years

A GLOUCESTERSHIRE man who sexually abused young boys over a 15-year period has been jailed for 17 years.

David Gillender, 66, preyed on three young children in Redcar in the North East during the mid 1980s to 1990s. At a sentencing hearing, prosecutor Simon Reevell said the abuse “happened time and time again”.

Gillender, who lived in Quedgeley, near Gloucester, denied the charges but was found guilty of 14 sexual offences in

June at Teesside Crown Court.

The court heard one of his victims turned to drink and drugs to cope with the trauma and suffers from nightmares.

In an impact statement, the victim said: “Children are born innocent and my innocence was stolen by David.

“As an adult I turned to drink and drugs to help cope with the nightmares and thoughts of harming myself. Once I first spoke about it I knew it was the right thing to do no matter how hard it was. However, I’ve had to relive everything I’ve tried to forget causing me more trouble in my life, including the breakdown of my relationship and losing my children to become a weekend dad.”

Sentencing, Judge Smith said: “Your offending took place over many years and each of your victims was subjected to a sustained period of sexual abuse. Each of your victims has spent a lifetime affected by what you did to them understandably they feel they were robbed of their childhood. The impact of what you did has followed them into their adult lives and no sentence that I could ever pass can possibly undo the lasting and substantial harm caused by your offending.”

Judge Smith handed Gillender a 17-and-a-half-year jail term.