John Bell, a paedophile from Gateshead, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing two young girls.
John Bell, 67, from Gateshead, sexually assaulted one girl when she was three or four years old and another between the ages of 13 and 15, as shown before Newcastle Crown Court.
He disputed eight historical charges, including one of rape, but was convicted by the jury.
A court commended John Bell’s victims for disclosing the offences upon reaching maturity.
In a statement read to the court, John Bell’s youngest victim said his offending had had a “devastating affect” on her whole life, adding that she struggled to trust people.
John Bell was found guilty of indecency with a child in accordance with the laws in place at the time of the offending, but Judge Doig said if it had happened now he would have been charged with rape.
The judge said he was “very sorry” he could only sentence John Bell to two years for that offence, one in prison and the other on licence, and the low term in “in no way reflects the seriousness of the offences inflicted” upon the victim.
John Bell was also found guilty of six indecent assault charges and one count of rape against the older victim.
In a statement, she told the court John Bell, of Aycliffe Place, threatened her to stop telling people what he was doing.
She said the abuse had been a “living nightmare” and had had a “significant impact”, leaving her with a fear of the dark.
The judge praised and thanked both women for “their courage in coming forward and seeing the case through to the end”.
He jailed John Bell for 17 years for the offences against the older victim, with the younger victim’s sentence to be served consecutively.
John Bell was also placed on the sex offenders register for life and a restraining order was made banning him from contacting the victims.
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