Locations
South Bank, Middlesbrough, TS6
Description
“I am a survivor. As hard as it’s been, I am proud I spoke up and told someone.”
These are the powerful words of a young girl who this week saw her abuser jailed for four years.
Newrick Grange, who is more commonly known as Rob, tried to force the girl to carry out sex acts on herself over several years when he lived in Darlington.
The quick-thinking girl managed to secretly record one of the instances on her phone, which provided evidence of the abuse to the police and courts.
Grange was arrested after the girl bravely told an adult what had happened, and an investigation was launched.
The 41-year-old was charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of causing or inciting a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.
Grange (Rob Grange), of South Bank, Middlesbrough, denied the offences and went on trial at Teesside Crown Court in April.
A jury found him guilty of causing or inciting a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity. He was acquitted of sexual assault.
He returned to court on Monday (June 9) for sentencing, where he was jailed for four years and handed a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the girl.
He was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) preventing him from having any contact with children under 16 and placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
In a victim impact statement, the girl said:
“The trauma inflicted on me is not just a moment in time, but a lifetime burden that will always affect me and all my relationships. However, I will try to heal as best as I can for the younger me.
“I tell people I’m okay, but I’m not. My childhood has been taken away from me due to the actions of Rob. All my good memories are now shadowed with the bad. I feel like I’ve had to mentally mature faster due to what I was subjected to by him.
“I want Rob to know exactly what he has done to me and the trauma he has caused me. He knows exactly what he has done, and it will haunt me for the rest of my life.
“I will use my experience to better other people. I want to spread awareness and help anyone who has or is going through what I have endured.”