Vale of Glamorgan councillor abused child for 10 years, trial hears

Anthony Hampton denies 20 counts of indecent assault

A councillor and ex-teacher sexually abused a girl from the age of five until she was 15, a trial has heard.

The girl, now 42, told Cardiff Crown Court that Anthony Hampton had also committed offences against her younger sister.

Mr Hampton, a Vale of Glamorgan councillor, denies 20 counts of indecent assault involving four children in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

The court heard it happened when Mr Hampton, now 74, was alone with them.

Giving evidence via video link, the woman said: "The main thing that would happen if we visited his house, he was lying on top of me and masturbating."

She told the jury she recalled three incidents in specific detail and other incidents were vague, saying Mr Hampton, of Barry, would push them down and lie on top of them. It had happened to her sister when she was in the same room.

She said he was laughing and called it cuddling.

The incidents either happened at their Midlands home or in south Wales, she said.

• Councillor abused four children, court hears

• Councillor faces historical sex charges

The woman rejected a suggestion by the defence counsel that she was lying and that her claims were "nothing more than settling scores".

She said she had had mental health issues including post-traumatic stress disorder and had been receiving counselling.

"As a child I didn't understand what was happening. What he did was wrong," she told the court.

The case has been adjourned until Thursday.