A PAEDOPHILE who was described as 'a monster' by one of his victims has been jailed for 13 years for historic child sex abuse.

Michael Richards was found guilty of three historic indecent assaults after a 10 day trial at Worcester Crown Court and jailed for 13 years last Wednesday as his victims bravely faced him in court, speaking of their ordeal at his hands.

Michael Richards, aged 58, of Prospect Road, Redditch, committed the offences between October 1973 and December 1994.

Caroline Harris, prosecuting, said one of the historic counts would be charged today as 'oral rape' and involved an assault on no fewer than two occasions. The second count would be charged today as the sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 and the third indecent assault as an assault on a child under 13 by penetration.

Miss Harris invited the victims to read out their victim personal statements, continuing the reading of one statement when one of Richards's victims broke down in tears.

One victim said she felt alone even when surrounded by others and said there was always part of herself she could not show.

She said: "I always felt I wasn't in control and was controlled by Michael. The feeling of being controlled remained with me throughout my life and affected my ability to make firm decisions.

"The crimes made me feel like a doormat."

The woman said she had felt afraid her entire life and could not tell her husband, a man she felt very close to, what had happened to her. "I still carried that horrible feeling of being ashamed right up until when the jury convicted him" she said.

A second victim said she regularly had a fear that she would be raped and had been prescribed anti-depressants and would 'tend to freeze' in stressful situations because of what happened to her. As a result of the defendant's actions she said she had been sterilised, feeling she would not be a good mother and was pleased when her breasts were removed as that would be one less thing that would make a man look at her.

A third victim said: "I wake up in the middle of the night and have flashbacks and suffer nightmares. I immediately take a bath because I feel dirty."

She added: "This monster took something away from me I can never get back. He took my childhood, my innocence, my dignity." Guy Wyatt, defending, said Richards had been very young at the time of two of the offences, arguing that immaturity at the time of offending was a significant mitigating factor. However, he said he was conscious that the force of that argument diminished when the offending continued into adulthood.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright said he must have regard to the statutory maximum sentence for the offences at the time they were committed. Richards had been a youth at the time of two of the counts of which he was found guilty.

He said: "You have committed offences against three separate victims. The victim personal statements which have been read out are vivid reminders of the lifelong damage the abuse of children causes."

He added: "You have shown no regret. You have shown no remorse. You are totally, selfishly indifferent to the damage that you have done."

The judge said Richards would be designated as an offender of particular concern and referred to the severe psychological harm suffered by the victims. He said of one victim: "Her life has been blighted by what you did to her."

The judge jailed him for 13 years with one year's additional licence period. At the halfway point of this sentence he can be considered for release by the Parole Board and if not released at that stage periodically after that.

Richards, who looked shocked when the sentence was announced, must sign the sex offender's register indefinitely.

Anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence is encouraged to report the incident to police, where specially trained officers will help victims with care and sensitivity, and will work to get the right result for them with their wishes in mind.