The girl carried out the stabbing on her abuser’s doorstep – six years after he was spared jail for sexually assaulting her when she was eight
A judge has offered to pay a 15-year-old girl ‘s court fine after hearing how she stabbed a paedophile who abused her as a child in the chest.
The teenager , who was just eight years old when she was sexually assaulted by the man, turned up at his home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, last year.
She told him, “I’m going to kill you,” before knifing him through his chest wall, cutting through an artery supplying blood away from his heart.
She carried out the attack on her abuser’s doorstep – six years after he was allowed to walk free from court for assaulting her as a young child.
Now, the girl has been spared jail herself after being sentenced to a two-year youth rehabilitation order for wounding with intent to cause GBH.
Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC refused to impose a mandatory victim surcharge, telling the teenager: “If anyone tries to force you, I will pay it myself.”
He added: “It would be a disgrace to send a survivor like you to prison.”
Bradford Crown Court heard how the girl was 14 years old when she armed herself with a large kitchen knife and stabbed her tormentor.
The man, who was aged 56 at the time of the attack, had been found guilty by jurors in 2009 of sexually abusing the girl when she was a child.
But despite his conviction, he was handed a community order with a supervision requirement instead of a prison sentence.
The court heard how the girl felt let down by the legal system when the man harassed and bullied her after walking free from court.
During last year’s stabbing, she went round to her abuser’s home and plunged the knife into his chest in front of members of his family.
Heather Gilmore, prosecuting, said the weapon entered his chest wall and cut through the artery supplying blood from the right ventricle of his heart.
The man was saved by the swift intervention of paramedics and surgeons. He was in intensive care and needed a blood transfusion.
After stabbing her abuser, the girl hugged her aunt, said: “Tell my mum I love her,” and
handed herself into a police station in Bradford city centre.
She said: “I’ve killed someone,” and immediately confessed to what she had done, describing the man as a ‘paedophile’.
The teenager was originally charged with attempted murder but the Crown accepted her plea of guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Miss Gilmore said the girl had been ‘entirely destroyed’ when her abuser was not jailed for sexually assaulting her and inciting her to engage in sexual activity.
He was given a community order after she had to give evidence at his trial because he denied the offences.
Afterwards, she was paranoid he was ‘going to get her’, the court heard.
The girl was later excluded from school for poor behaviour. She feared she would never get a husband and she lived her life in a bad dream, the court was told.
Her victim had been left in constant pain from the stab wound. He was permanently scarred and his children had been affected.
Elyas Patel, defending, said: “Rightly or wrongly, this 15-year-old felt that the justice system had let her down.
“With Your Honour at the wheel, the justice system will not fail her today.”
Mr Patel went on: “She was left deeply troubled and scarred. She acted in a few moments of despair and desperation.
“This is an exceptional case which requires an exceptional course.
“This deeply troubled and damaged child, bedevilled by low self esteem, is crying out for help.”
She had the unwavering support of her mother who knew her daughter needed ongoing support.
Judge Durham Hall sentenced the girl to a two year Youth Rehabilitation Order with supervision.
Refusing to impose the mandatory victim surcharge, he told her he would pay it himself if anyone tried to force her to.
Describing the doorstep attack, he told the teenager: “You stabbed him in the region of his heart. Mercifully, you did not kill him.
“He was saved by excellent medical intervention and has made a pretty full recovery.”
The judge continued: “Why did you stab this man? Because when you were eight in 2009 he committed serious sexual offences against you.
“He was treated by the courts, with hindsight, somewhat leniently but things have changed.
“Now there is condign punishment in cases of this nature, in accordance with the guidelines.”
He also wished the teenager good luck and assured her: “Things have changed.”
The court had earlier heard how the girl was left in a ‘fragile’ and ‘damaged’ state after the sex attack. Details of the assault remain unclear.
The teenager was also handed a supervision requirement.
vivicentro.it-cronaca / mirror.co.uk / Teenage girl stabs paedophile on his doorstep after he avoids jail for abusing her. SOPHIE EVANS
COLLEGATE:
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