- Simon Parson, 44, and Rebecca Dow, 39, ‘covered the spectrum of depravity’ with abuse
A couple who mercilessly treated a young girl like their plaything have been jailed for 40 years after a judge told them their abuse “spanned the spectrum of depravity”.
Simon Parsons, 44, and Rebecca Dow, 39, both from South Wales, were convicted of a series of serious sexual offenses against the victim when she was just 13 years old.
Cardiff Crown Court heard how the couple used drugs to subdue the girl before subjecting her to horrific ordeals of rape and sexual assault.
Today their victim bravely opened up about her ‘dream of being normal’ in a moving impact statement as the pair were sentenced.
She said: ‘You traumatized me for the rest of my life. I dream of being normal.
‘My life was torn apart and turned upside down. I never had a childhood. I never deserved this.
‘I carry the feeling of guilt and shame with me every day. I’m a confused child and it’s not my fault.
Simon Parsons, 44, from Cardiff, was found guilty of multiple charges, including child rape and sexual assault of a child, and jailed for 24 years
Rebecca Dow, 39, of Newport, was found guilty of multiple charges, including complicity to the rape of a child, and jailed for 16 years
‘This is not the life I dreamed of as a girl. I’ve tried to keep it in the back of my mind, but it’s me who has to live with it 24/7.
‘You tortured, humiliated and destroyed me. I don’t live, I survive.’
Cardiff Crown Court heard that the crimes against the victim ‘displayed a range of depravity’.
Parsons is said to have an ‘unhealthy relationship’ with sex and to have a ‘museum collection’ of sex toys.
Both used drugs to ‘bring the victim down to their level’.
The court heard ‘promises of reward’ were made in return for sexual activity – and Parsons told her he would ‘kill’ her if she told anyone about the abuse.
But the girl herself attempted suicide as a result of her ordeal.
Parsons, of Llanrumney, Cardiff, was found guilty of multiple charges including child rape and sexual assault of a child.
Dow, of Rogerstone, Newport, was found guilty of multiple charges including complicity to the rape of a child.
The pair received a total of 40 years in prison: Parsons 24 years and Dow 16 years.
David Elias KC, defending Dow, said: “She continues to deny the offences. There’s nothing I can say to minimize them.”
Judge David Wynn Morgan told them: ‘In the pursuit of your perverse sexual gratification you treated her like some sort of animated sex toy.
“As for the crimes in the indictment, they span the full spectrum of depravity.”
Addressing Parsons, Judge Wynn Morgan said: “The evidence revealed in your case, Parsons, is that you have a very unhealthy preoccupation with sex.”
Both were given indefinite restraining orders not to contact their victim, who cannot be named, to protect her identity.