A man sexually assaulted 25 years ago has described the relief of finally seeing his abuser brought to justice.
Garren Meredith was assaulted by the older man when he was just 14 or 15 years old.
His abuser, Steven Jeremy Foster, 53, was jailed earlier this month for his attacks on Garren and a second boy in the 1980s.
Garren, 41, has waived his legal right to anonymity to speak to the Leicester Mercury about his ordeal, which Foster inflicted on him in Loughborough.
He said counselling had helped him overcome a sense of guilt he carried for many years, a period in which he turned to drink and drugs and attempted suicide.
Garren, who lived in Loughborough at the time but now lives in Long Eaton, first reported Foster's crimes against him in 2006.
The Crown Prosecution Service said at that time there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.
But last year, Foster's other victim – whom Garren does not know – came forward.
With two victims giving similar accounts of abuse, the CPS believed it had grounds to prosecute.
Foster, of Ratcliffe Road, Loughborough, admitted three counts of indecent assault and was jailed for three years and four months.
Speaking about the abuse, Garren said: "I was perhaps 11 years old at the time and Jerry – we always called him that – befriended my family.
"My mum and dad had separated a few years before.
"He had no relationship with my mum. In fact, he had very little to do with her. But, within a year, he had his own front door key and seemed to be manipulating me away from my family.
"He would give me treats – driving lessons, take me to the pub and buy me alcohol."
The first incident happened after a party at a house in Woodhouse Eaves.
Garren said: "It was all adults and there was lots of drinking going on.
"I began to feel really ill because of the alcohol and he was angry, saying I was going to be in a lot of trouble.
"He said I would have to stay the night at his house. And that's where it happened for the first time.
"I was terrified. I remember lying there as still as I could be, hoping it would stop."
The second assault happened about 18 months later.
"It led me to withdraw completely," Garren said. "Although I was very young, I began drinking and using drugs.
"I dropped out of school at 15, whereas a couple of years earlier I was top of the class and loved every minute of being there.
"I couldn't cope with being in groups of people because I would become paranoid and anxious.
"It has taken years of counselling for me to lose that sense of guilt I carried around with me."
Garren, a divorced father of three, went back to college in 2008 and obtained a degree in biology and zoology last year. He is now studying for a Phd.
"I still go to counseling and I still have the occasional bad day," he said. "Once you understand that what has happened to you was the result of that person's choices, not yours, you no longer carry that guilt."
Garren wanted to tell his story to encourage other victims of sexual abuse not to be afraid of speaking out.
"I think a big point I would like to make is that you will be taken seriously by the police," he said. "Even though the CPS originally said they were not going to prosecute him, I was offered plenty of support.
"Then, a few years later, the second victim came forward and his evidence enabled the police to piece the whole story together.
"We don't know each other, but we've both played our parts in bringing this man to justice."
Sentencing at Leicester Crown Court, Judge Robert Brown told Foster: "This is a clear case of abuse by you in your position as an older man.
"There was planning and you contrived circumstances in which those boys would be in your company and, when given alcohol, they succumbed to your advances.
"What started as friendship became abuse on three separate occasions."
Stephen Mejzner, mitigating, said: "He's bitterly ashamed and desperately embarrassed about his behaviour."
