A paedophile from East Hampshire who left a woman psychologically scarred for life from five years of teenage abuse will spend the rest of the decade behind bars.

John Novak was made to hear a statement detailing the devastating impact of his actions before receiving his sentence at Winchester Crown Court.

The 69-year-old, previously of Chase Close in Liss, was found guilty of five historical counts of indecent assault in the 1990s following an earlier trial at the same court.

He was sentenced on Wednesday (Jun 25) with his victim bravely delivering an impact statement in an open court before Judge Recorder Gordon Bebb sent him down.

“I don’t believe I was John’s only victim – it’s important to me that he is held accountable,” said the woman, who was around 13 when the abuse began.

“During the time of the abuse I struggled to understand my emotions. I drunk alcohol in school time to numb the feelings and self-harmed.

“It didn’t stop when the abuse ended and things that feel natural now don’t. I live with a near constant sense of doubt, insecurity and self-loathing.

Rose Burns, prosecuting, told the court Novak subjected the victim to “sustained and repeated sexual abuse” and that “significant psychological harm” was caused. The offences, which did not take place locally, began with touching but gradually became more serious.

Tom Wright, for Novak, said the defendant was a man of previous good character but has deteriorating health being a person of later years. His childhood family situation was also cited in mitigation.

Judge Bebb told Novak that he abused a position of trust to subject his victim to five to six years of lasting emotional and psychological abuse.

He said: “She was about 13 at the time – you knew she trusted you.

“You viewed her as a sexual object and took advantage of her innocence. You moved from becoming a figure of trust to one of abuse.

“You knew from the outset the distress you were causing her, and when it was made clear the actions were causing distress and were wrong you tried to naturalise it.”

The judge added: “Over a period of six years she suffered from your abuse, unable to tell anyone.

“She was only able to escape when she went to university and ceased to come home – you heard her evidence.

“She told me about the profound impact your behaviour has had on her and how damaged she had been by your behaviour.”

The offences were serious enough to warrant a ten-year maximum sentence but his imprisonment was reduced to eight because of his previous good character.

The judge handed him an eight-year sentence for the most serious of the five charges of indecent assault, with sentences ranging from two to six years for the remainder, to run concurrently.

The judge also praised the victim for her testimony, with supporters in the public gallery giving her a round of applause after the hearing ended.