Brian Harrison repeatedly sexually assaulted a school-aged child at an address in Sunderland when he was a young adult.
Having lived with the effects of Harrison’s crimes for most of his life, the victim finally felt it was time to report the assaults to police at the beginning of last year.
Following the complaint, Harrison was traced and interviewed by officers, during which he admitted to his offending.
It resulted in the 66-year-old defendant, of Poachers Lane, Warrington, Cheshire, being charged with a string of child sex offences, in May this year.
Brian Harrison, 66, jailed for 52 months for sex abuse committed as a young adult(Image: Cheshire Police)
He appeared at Newcastle Crown Court in August when he pleaded guilty to six offences.
They comprised of four counts of indecent assault on a child, and two counts of indecency with a child, as the offences occurred prior to the introduction of the Sexual Offences Act, in 2003.
Harrison was back before the court on Friday (October 10) when he was jailed for four years and four months.
He will be subject to registration as a sex offender for life and he was also made subject of a lifelong restraining order to protect the victim.
Speaking after the conclusion of the hearing, the victim said: “Brian Harrison preyed on me as a very young child.
“I have carried the secret which feels like individual embarrassment for over 45 years.
“It was only following my police interview that my experiences finally sunk in, with me coming to terms that something I regarded as being a traumatic and adverse childhood experience was in fact repeated acts of sexual assault as a child.
“It is now time for Brian Harrison to carry the burden of his actions and for those who know him to see that he is a child sex offender, rather than the person he likes to portray.”
Brian Harrison starting lengthy prison sentence for sexual abuse of a boy committed almost 50 years ago(Image: Cheshire Police)
Detective Constable Wood, of Northumbria Police, who led the investigation, said: “It’s incomprehensible to imagine what the victim has been through, having kept these crimes to himself for more than four decades.
“I am extremely grateful he bravely decided to disclose Harrison’s crimes to us, which allowed us to take action and finally put his abuser before the courts.
“I hope he feels extremely proud of himself, he’s finally allowed himself to get justice.”
She added: “I hope this case shows other people out there who may be in two minds about telling police that it’s truly never too late to start this process.
“No one should have to go through anything like this, and I’d urge anyone who has been a victim of any form of sexual offending to reach out, whether it happened yesterday, last week, or decades ago.
“There is no time limit on the support we can provide – we’re here for you.”
Det Con Wood said details of how to access support and more information on how to disclose sexual assault or rape is available on Northumbria Police’s website.
To report any other type of recent or non-recent abuse, a direct message can be sent on social media, using the ‘live chat’ function on the force website or via the ‘report pages’, also on the website.
For those unable to contact police via those ways, they should call 101.