A PAEDOPHILE who abused at least four girls and escaped with it for decades has been sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Richard Jeary, 60, of Whitethorn Avenue, West Drayton, was jailed at Harrow Crown Court on Friday, after being found guilty in August.

Jeary's campaign of terror spanned two decades, in the 70s and 80s and a jury found him to be guilty of 13 charges.

His crimes included eight counts of rape, two counts of gross indecency, and three counts of sexual assault, all involving children under 16.

In an exclusive statement to the Gazette, one of the main witnesses in the trial, who came forward to report the offences, revealed that her fears he would re-offend sparked her decision to come forward.

Speaking anonymously, she said: "I decided to report the crime all those years later because I heard he was in the company of young children and I didn’t want the same thing happen to them as it happened to me.

"I was disgusted by a lot of people’s reactions towards me, asking me to try to forget it.

"Once sexual abuse happens it is something you never forget, it brings shame and guilt on oneself.

"I needed to find the courage within myself to report it and that’s what I did on November 2007.

"I know it has been a long two years, however I am extremely happy with the result, it was well worth the wait. I will be happy now knowing children are safe from him.

"My husband, friends and family have been extremely supported to me, and I would especially like to thank the police and the Crown Prosecution Service for bringing this man to justice.

"The sentence is fantastic and we are absolutely over the moon, we are hoping that finally we can draw a line under it."

It was between 1971 and 1982 that Jeary routinely raped and sexually abused four girls between the ages of seven and 12 while they were in his care.

On occasions he took two of the girls out in his car to a fast food restaurant and on the way home he would rape them in the back of his car.

The offences were first reported to police in 1985 by one of the victims, but no action was taken on the allegations after a lack of evidence.

Detective Constable Stephen Lewis formerly of the child abuse investigation command based at Northwood, said: "I hope that the conviction of Jeary will go some way to helping each of the victims to rebuild their lives and give some measure of confidence to other victims of abuse that despite the passage of time all allegations will be fully investigated by police."