Victim praised for bravery as serial Sunderland paedophile Stan Simpson given further 16-year jail term

The 53-year-old was back in court this week after being found guilty by a jury of abusing a schoolboy in the early 1980s.

Simpson, of Pennywell, was caged for 24 years in 2016 after being found guilty of multiple rapes and assaults on seven victims aged as young as eight-years-old.He was made to sign the sex offenders register for life for the horrific abuse of his victims, who were both male and female.

Now he has been given another jail term after an eighth victim came forward to report historical abuse suffered at the hands of the advice worker in the early 1980s.

Newcastle Crown Court was told how Simpson had repeatedly attacked the boy and threatened him in a bid to keep him quiet.

Simpson denied three counts of indecent assault, two counts of indecency with a child and two counts of a serious sexual offence but was found guilty by a jury on all charges.

Now he has been handed a fresh 16-year sentence that will run alongside the 24 year jail term he is currently serving in prison.

The victim told the court in an impact statement how he had been left with "suicidal thoughts" as a result of a sustained period of abuse.

Following the case, Detective Constable David Smith praised the victim's bravery for coming forward and reporting the abuse.

He said: "The victim in this case was badly damaged by a sustained period of abuse before he eventually did find the courage to speak to police in recent years.

"The sexual assaults he suffered at the hands of this man destroyed his childhood and he is still badly affected now, decades after the crimes were committed.

"I want to praise him for the bravery he has shown in giving evidence in the case. He has stood in the witness box and told the court exactly what happened to him.

"He was forced to stand before a jury because Stan Simpson refused to do the right thing and plead guilty to the charges against him.

"I am glad his attempts to discredit the victim in this case failed and I am glad that he will now grow old behind bars.

"Hopefully the victim in this case can finally take some credit for knowing the man who ruined his life has finally been held to account for his crimes."

Speaking in court, the victim, who is now in his late 40s, said his life had been destroyed because of the abuse he suffered at the hands of Simpson.

He said: "Throughout my life I have had many sleepless nights, this comes and goes in my head for weeks at a time and on occasions I have had suicidal thoughts. I felt now that I had to report this in order to set myself free."