Victims of Wakefield child predator confront pervert to tell him he ‘took their innocence away’

Jason Cartledge was handed the extended sentence after being found guilty of sex offences against two girls dating back 20 years.

He put the females, who are now adults, though the trauma of a trial at Leeds Crown Court but was found guilty of three counts of indecent assault on the first youngster, and three of sexual activity with a child for the second.

Appearing at Leeds Crown Court via video link from HMP Leeds, impact statements from the victims were read out by prosecutor Steven Littlewood.

One said: “My innocence was taken away. I do not trust male friends around my family and children.

“I did not know how to process what I have been through. I have still got a long way to go to recover from all of this.”

The second victim told the court: “The sexual abuse I have suffered has affected me deeply. He took from me something I will never get back – my childhood. It has caused depression and low self-worth.

"In the dark hours of depression I lie awake all hours of the night.”

The court heard that 42-year-old Cartledge, of Charles Street, Wakefield, groomed the first girl when she was just 11, and he was 19. He had sex with the girl when she was 13.

The second girl he would ply with drink and drugs and sexually touch her, before forcing her into sex.

Mitigating, Allan Armbrister conceded he was limited on what he could say on Cartledge’s behalf because he continued to deny all the offences, despite his conviction.

He said that he had no relevant previous convictions for this kind of offending, and had a difficult childhood which led to him “wanting to mix with younger people”.

Judge Rodney Jameson KC jailed him for 14 years in total, made up of 10 years behind bars and four years on an extended licence period. He will serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before being considered for parole. He was also put on the sex offenders register for life and given a 14-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to stop him having unsupervised contact with youngsters.