- 17 October 2016
- South West Wales
DYFED-POWYS POLICE
A 71-year-old man from Carmarthenshire has been jailed for three years for historical sex abuse.
Evan Heddwyn Jones from Llanwrda was convicted of four counts of indecent assault on a child between 14 and 16 years from 1976 to 1978.
Swansea Crown Court heard he was employed to pick up school children and drop them at their nearest bus stop.
His victim was the last to be dropped off and Judge Keith Thomas said he "took advantage of the situation."
The victim, Esther Hoad - who now lives in Ireland - has chosen to waive her right to anonymity to speak about the sexual abuse she suffered as a child.
In an interview with BBC Wales, she said: "When the abuse first started I just felt wretched. I felt confused and guilty that I had somehow attracted all this unwanted attention to myself.
"I cringed in the school taxi every time he touched me or spoke to me. My feelings were guilt and self-loathing, confusion and powerlessness for allowing this to happen to me.
"As an adult I now know that this was misplaced guilt, but as the child I was then, I felt I was to blame."
Ms Hoad said she only decided to approach the police in 2014 after disclosing her experiences to her therapist.
"As the statements gathered by Dyfed-Powys police came in from people I grew up with, from people I went to school with, from other members of my family, I was appalled and angry, because it became crystal clear that everybody knew and that nobody did anything," she said.
Ms Hoad hopes that by waiving her right to anonymity, it will encourage sexual abuse victims to speak out.
Det Con Lee Davies said: "The sentencing of Jones is a significant result for Dyfed-Powys Police and also the victim of these abhorrent crimes.
"It has taken great courage for her to come forward and to stand before a judge and jury to provide her evidence. I applaud her for finding the confidence to come forward.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-37682186
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