Child rapist 'destroyed the person I could have been'

Kevin Perry, 56, was jailed for 20 years at Liverpool Crown Court

A woman who was raped as a 12-year-old child has spoken about how her abuser's actions "destroyed the person I had the potential to become" as he was jailed.

Merseyside Police said Kevin Perry’s predatory behaviour came to light after complaints were made about the child-minding business he later started.

The 56-year-old, of Cross Lane in Prescot, was convicted of two rape offences and 13 indecent assaults at Liverpool Crown Court and was jailed for 20 years.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she had "never spoken" about the abuse before reporting it, but had spent years "being ashamed and embarrassed about keeping his dirty little secret".

The force said Perry's trial was told his four-year campaign of abuse had started in the 1980s when his victim was 12 years old.

The court heard thge abuse began when the girl fell asleep in Perry's car on Southport beach and awoke to find him sexually molesting her.

Afterwards, he suggested she should be his girlfriend, despite him being ten years older.

Sentencing him, Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said that had been "a quite cynical device to manipulate her" and had been the opening to "a prolonged course of sexual offending against a very vulnerable young girl".

Perry went on to sexually assault the girl on numerous occasions, before raping her twice when she was 15.

'Mend what he has broken'

In a statement, the woman said Perry "destroyed the person I had the potential to become".

"Spending my childhood and early adulthood pretending that what he did to me was normal, was the only way I could cope with the trauma of being abused by him," she said.

"I have spent my whole life being ashamed and embarrassed about keeping his dirty little secret, as I now know this is what it is, his secret, his wrongdoing, not mine."

She said she had "developed an eating disorder and obsessive compulsive disorders of various kinds" as a result of what happened and that there were "so many triggers that bring back memories [that] living a normal life seems impossible".

"Last year my marriage broke down because my husband could not cope with the fact that I kept this a secret in our marriage for so long," she said.

"Whenever I visit the area, I am always tense and scared in case I see him [and] I often find myself panicking."

She said after reporting the abuse, she "began taking time off work", as she was "unable to cope with the feelings of anxiety [and] only felt safe at home".

"When I returned to work, I had to confide in my boss.

"One day they found me crying because I was struggling... and pretending I was ok, when in fact I was falling apart.

"Before then, I always loved my job and very rarely took time off, but now I doubt my ability to do my job."

She added that she hoped she could now "get the help I need to recover and mend what he has broken".

Perry, who showed no reaction as he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, was ordered to sign on the sex offenders register for life and made subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Speaking after sentencing, Det Sgt Tim Rowlands said Perry's "utterly depraved actions" had had a "significant and long-lasting" impact on the woman.

"Merseyside Police is completely committed to protecting children from sexual abuse from those who seek to do them harm, and we take all such reports extremely seriously," he added.