TWO girls who were groomed for years by a ‘dangerous man’ said they suffered sleepless nights and nightmares, with one victim saying she had thoughts of killing herself as a result of his abuse.

Paul Wells, of High Street, Beckley, near Oxford has been jailed for 12 years and will be put on licence for a further eight years once he is realeased from prison.

He was convicted of one count of rape, seven sex offences against children under the age of 16, and two of making indecent images of children.

Sentencing at Oxford Crown Court, Recorder John Gallagher said he had ‘no doubt at all’ Wells was a ‘dangerous man’ when it came to his ‘sexual appetites’ in respect to young girls.

He added he also had no doubt that Wells posed a serious risk of harm to the public, ‘particularly young women’ and that he showed a lack of empathy to his victims.

Recorder Gallagher said: “You are 100 per cent to blame for this. One victim says she suffers from stress, sleepless nights and nightmares. She fears going out. 

“You will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.”

Prosecuting Claire Howell said Wells raped one of the victims when she was 16, but had groomed both girls and committed other sexual offences against them when they were as young as 13.

She added the 10 sex crimes Wells was convicted of were committed between June 2013 and June 2014. 

She added: “One of the victims indicates she has blamed herself, thinking it was her own fault and says she has ended up self-harming.

“The other victim said she had thoughts of killing herself. The impact statement says: ‘I’m not myself any more. There is so much I have lost because of what he did to me’”.

The leading police officer in the case, Detective Constable Kelly Gilbert said the crimes Wells committed against the young girls were ‘deplorable and should never go unpunished’.

She added it took the Child Abuse Investigation Unit two years of ‘hard work’ to bring the paedophile to justice.

Ms Gilbert said: “The girls have had to suffer in silence for many years believing that they were in the wrong or no one would believe them, which was not the case. 

“Not only did Wells harm them physically, but the emotional scars are always the hardest to heal.

“I hope that the sentence will give them time to move on and feel safe.”

“It’s a long time for victims and their families to wait but I feel it was all worth it in the end because justice has been served and a dangerous man is where he belongs.” 

Defending, Nigel Daly, said Wells had gone through a ‘challenging’ time when his partner died in the 30s.

He added: “He is not a well man. He is going to be at risk in jail.”
Wells was found not guilty of one charge of sexual activity with a child under 16.

The NSPCC later urged more victims of grooming and sexual abuse to come forward to seek justice.

A spokesman said: “Wells is rightly behind bars for his deplorable and calculated crimes against two vulnerable girls over a number of years.

“His victims showed tremendous courage to report Wells’ crimes to the police after his hideous acts left a devastating impact on their lives.

“We urge other victims of grooming and sexual abuse to come forward so that those guilty can be held accountable for their offences.

“For help and support children can contact ChildLine 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 0800 1111 or by visiting www.childline.org.uk.”