A BRAVE victim of child abuse who faced the 'pathetic' paedophile who molested him in court told young people at a school about his ordeal to stop others suffering in silence.

Tom Leavesley, aged 31, formerly of Diglis, Worcester, stood up on a stage in front of 190 male year 11 students to recount to them how he defeated his demons and faced the man who abused him when he was just 12 years old.

He did not report the offences, which took place in the mid 1990s, until December 2013 at Worcester Police Station after the breakdown of his relationship made him realise he had to confront the abuse which stole his childhood. He only told his mum and dad about the abuse the morning before he went to Worcester Police Station.

As previously reported in the Worcester News Mr Leavesley, who owns his own business called People Experts Limited, bravely waived his right to anonymity for life in the hope it might persuade other victims of abuse to come forward.

Throughout his life he had harnessed the pain of the abuse and used it as a driving force to achieve success in his business.

His abuser Alan Page, aged 55, of Burcher Green, Kidderminster, was convicted of five counts of inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency and sentenced to five years in prison at Stafford Crown Court last December.

Page, who had been a family friend, committed the offences in Stourport between July 1, 1996 and October 1, 1996.

Mr Leavesley who has recently moved to Manchester but still has an office and friends in Worcester gave the talk at the Manchester Grammar School in March.

He had been nominated by the head of the school's drama department, Matthew Nichols for a presentation called "Heroes and their Qualities" which runs every month.

Mr Leavesley said: "He asked me if I would go and talk to the boys. He said 'you're my hero for what you did'.

"He introduced me. He did the warm up. He explained I had broken my silence and would I talk to the boys about 'Heroes and their Qualities'?

"I'm quite a a self-deprecating character. When he first said that I was a little bit bashful. I said 'oh God, I'm not quite sure about that'.

"I thought it would be a bit of a poor show if I refused the offer of talking on the stage. It was very empowering and rewarding.

"I talked about my experience. I didn't talk about the detail of what happened but told them the man who abused me had been sent to prison for gross indecency." He said he was keen to get across to the young people that 'everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about' and to 'be kind always'.

He said: "I wanted most of the talk to focus on being kind. I wanted them to think about being kind to their mates. It was about being kind and being mindful that everyone is fighting their own battles."

Mr Leavesley has already climbed Snowdon and also plans to climb Ben Nevis in preparation for his charity trek up Kilimanjaro on August 14 in aid of Survivors Manchester which provided much valued support to him in his time of need.

He wants to raise £30,0000 for the charity that aims to create safe space for male survivor so sexual abuse and rape to work through sometimes painful issues and break the silence and legacy of abuse.

You can sponsor him www.justgiving.com/tomsurvivors