Pontefract man given 18 year prison term for child sexual abuse
The 78 year old admitted to 18 different offences against two young victims
A Pontefract man is starting an 18 year nine month prison sentence after admitting to a string of sexual abuse against two victims.
78 year old Ronald Nicklin, of Mill Dam Lane, will also be on the sex offenders register for life after pleading guilty to:
- Six counts of assault a girl under 13 by touching
- Two counts of assault a girl under 13 by penetration
- Seven counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity
- Two counts of rape of a girl under 13
- One count of exposure
In a statement, one of the victims in the case said: “You lost your power the moment I stood back up, the moment we stood back up."
"Now you are condemned to a life where the world moves forward without you, your name rotting into silence, while every survivor you tried to destroy walks free, carrying a victory you’ll never taste.
“You have taken so much from me, for so long. I am choosing now to take back the voice you stole; you will not hurt me anymore. You will never hurt anyone ever again; you will die in prison where you belong.”
The officer in the case, Eve Goodier, of West Yorkshire Police, said: “It is difficult to imagine what Nicklin’s victims have gone through, with the horrific offending against them starting from the age of five.
“The police investigation began after one of the victims came forward to report what had happened to her out of genuine fear of another child being subjected to the sexual abuse that she had experienced.
“I do not underestimate how hard it was for both victims to have to relive what happened to them but the courage they have shown and the detailed statements they have given have ensured that Nicklin has been made to face justice for his actions.
“No sentence will give his victims their childhoods back or take away the memories of the awful abuse that Nicklin put them through, but I do hope that they can take some comfort in knowing that their actions have ensured that other children are now safe from this sexual predator.”