Woman's life 'destroyed' by childhood molester

Convicted child sex offender Natalie Wolf was formerly known as Ryan Haley

A woman who was molested as a child has told a court her life was destroyed by the abuser's actions.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the woman was 13 when she was groped and feared she was going to be raped by Ryan Haley, a biological male who now identifies as a woman called Natalie Wolf, in the Washington area.

The victim told the court: "While I struggled to exist in my own skin, the person who hurt me seems to have found peace in theirs."

Wolf, 47 and from Byker in Newcastle, who had claimed to be the victim of a "conspiracy" and that jurors had been "hypnotised", was found guilty of sexual activity with a child and jailed for three years and six months.

Then aged under 30, Wolf, who was referred to by female pronouns in court and has been held on remand at a men's prison, groped the girl's chest and tried to touch her groin, prosecutor Nicoleta Alistari said.

The woman, who told the court she had feared she was going to be raped, said she was speaking out "not just for me but for all the women and children sexually abused by men".

'You destroyed me'

She said: "Ryan Haley wants everyone to know him as Natalie Wolf, in my eyes he is Ryan Haley, the man who sexually abused me."

The woman said there were "few things more isolating than living in a body you don't feel at home in", adding the "discomfort" caused by the abuse had shaped every part of her life.

She said she had carried a sense of shame, self-doubt and disconnection from herself while Wolf had "moved forward".

The woman said her body had been made to feel like a "battlefield, a place I couldn't claim", adding: "Ryan, you destroyed me as a child, a teenager and as an adult."

She said watching her abuser "celebrate their life, body and choices" felt like salt in the wound.

"Today I am finally going to get my justice I have fought for over many years," the woman said, adding her abuser was now going to get what they deserved.

'Greater misery'

Wolf, who was unrepresented, told the court the charge was a "pack of lies" and an appeal would be launched, but Judge Gavin Doig said the defendant had been convicted by jurors who were "sure" of guilt.

Wolf, who claimed to have brain damage and been born "intersex", was being held in HMP Durham, a men's remand prison.

Judge Doig said Wolf claimed to have been a "victim of a conspiracy" involving the courts, police and "many other people", making allegations that jurors had been "hypnotised" or planted.

"You are not the victim of a conspiracy," the judge told Wolf, adding: "You are not the victim here at all."

Judge Doig praised the woman's bravery in confronting Wolf, adding: "I wish her well for the future."

He said he hoped Wolf, who had a personality disorder and long-standing mental health issues, would also be able to "move on" and seek help, but added: "If you continue to believe you are the victim of a conspiracy and nothing is your own fault, this will lead only to greater misery for you."

Wolf was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and must sign the sex offender register for life.