A judge has praised the courage of an abuse victim after she stood up in court to tell him how it had ruined her childhood and blighted her life.

Graeme Ellis was jailed for eight years after being found guilty at Exeter Crown Court of touching underage girl repeatedly.

The abuse happened in the early 2010s and led to the victim suffering years of psychological torment and needing therapy for flashbacks and nightmares.

Judge Timothy Rose described the abuse she suffered as ‘a horror’ and praised her courage in giving evidence and reading her victim impact statement in court.

He told Ellis: “I hope you listened carefully to the victim personal statement which told of the effect on her. It took a great deal of courage and fortitude for her to read that and she ought to be congratulated for doing so.

“There was a continuing psychological reaction and her statement made it pretty obvious that you destroyed her life and created profound difficulties for her.”

Ellis, aged 56, now of Exeter Road, Silverton, denied but was found guilty of six counts of sexual assault and one of sexual activity in the presence of a child.

During the trial last week, the jury heard how Ellis committed the abuse while living in a village in East Devon in the early 2010s.

He developed a sexual obsession with the girl and found opportunities to touch her over and under her clothing, make her touch his genitals, and masturbate in her presence.

He denied all the offences. Mr Lee Bremridge, defending, said Ellis had a history of mental health problems which were affecting him at the time.