STEPHEN WADE has been jailed for nine years and six months for historic child abuse charges. MARY NAYLOR spoke to one of his victims and the mum of another victim about the effect he had on their lives.

A MUM who was sexually abused as a child has told of the anguish she has endured for two decades.

The woman, now in her 20s, was just six when she was repeatedly abused by Stephen Wade in the 1990s — and was unable to leave her home as she struggled to come to terms with what happened to her.

READ MORE: Paedophile Stephen Wade jailed two decades after abuse 

Wade groomed her and another girl during depraved sleepovers at his house in Farnworth where he would share a double mattress with his victims.

As she grew up, she said she tried to cope with the abuse, but following sex education classes at school, realised the extent of what had happened.

News stories about Jimmy Savile were both a blessing and a curse, giving her the strength to come forward but making her relive the horror of what had happened to her.

Things came to a head when she started her own family.

She said: “I was pregnant with my daughter and half way through when I found out I was having a girl, that’s when it started affecting me. I wouldn’t want anyone touching her.

“It was one of the things that popped into my head and it carried on. I got overprotective of my daughter and it bothered me when it was all over the media. I couldn’t deal with it.

“I have a community psychiatric nurse, I’ve had them for about two and a half years because I ended up with PTSD. I was acting up and it was out of character, from then. That’s when the out patient services came all the time. If I’m struggling my nurse comes more than once a week.”

Wade, 59, was jailed for more than nine years at Bolton Crown Court on Friday ­— three years after legal proceedings were first brought against him.

His victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the past four years have been a living hell as she was convinced Wade was coming to get her. She said: “I was paranoid and I didn’t leave my house for three and a half years.”

She added: “I have got one person off the street who’s not going to be a danger to any more children.

“I don’t have to walk the streets looking over my shoulder and lock my children away.”

The mother of another of Wade’s victims also spoke to The Bolton News. Her daughter also shared a bed with Wade and was touched by him.

This victim has flashbacks to the abuse she suffered at Wade’s hands when she was around four years old. These can affect her moods and cause difficulties socialising.

The victim’s mother said: “She has flashbacks and things and she can be ratty with other people.

“Hopefully she can get closure but it will never leave her.”

She currently needs medication to help her sleep.

In 2001, her mother found out about the abuse and called the police but her daughter was too scared to speak out against Wade.

Her mother said: “In 2001 when I reported it, he got to her and said ‘If you carry on I will kill myself’. A child of that age didn’t want to go any further.”

Wade’s victim explained how the Jimmy Savile case had prompted her to speak out.

She said: “Because it was historic, what physical evidence did I have? It was my word against his. The whole Jimmy Savile thing, if that hadn’t happened I would never have gone to the police.

“That happened 40 years ago and I thought mine was 15 years ago maybe I will try and see what happens.

“It was difficult because I was a child, my timeline was events, it wasn’t ‘well it happened’ on this day.

“It was this person was alive and this person died then. That was all I have to go on. That was what was putting me off. I didn’t know how many times that happened, it just did.

“Apparently, that was more reassuring to the police, they said they were less likely to believe you if you said dates because five and six-year-olds don’t remember dates, they remember events.”

She added: “I want more people to come forward. I know a lot of people will have been in my situation.”

Not only have Wade’s victims suffered because of the abuse, the prosecution dragged out for three years. Last Friday, Wade breached his bail by failing to attend court and the judge had to issue a warrant for his arrest. He was sentenced to an additional seven days for this. His victim said they had arrived in court for 9am to see the sentencing but were left waiting all day before Wade was hauled before the judge.

His victim said Wade had tried to gain sympathy in the court and said he had lung cancer. She said: “I’m not a nasty person, I’m not sure how I feel. I have often felt sorry for him, but he’s shown no remorse.”

She said she felt “numb” when she left court and after three years of being told when the next court date was she left not knowing what to do with herself.

The mother of Wade’s other victim spoke of the relief when they left court. She said: “It was a massive weight lifted from your shoulders.”

She said of her daughter: “She’s relieved and glad it’s over and she can start to move forward.” Though her mother still felt “angry” about Wade’s crimes and his lack of remorse. She added: “People can come forward in historic cases and they will believed. It doesn’t matter if it was yesterday or 20 years ago.”