FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019  COURIER  7

Ross Jennings

News
says he hit rock
bottom but now
he is dedicated
to helping others

Now I can move

on with my life,
says victim after
paedophile jailed
abuse sufferer was just
By vicky castle and
andy robinson

12 when campaign of rape

vicky.castle@reachplc.com
@journocastle

The brave victim of depraved pae-

dophile George Parker has said his
long prison sentence marks the
start of a new chapter.
Last Friday Parker, from Tun-
bridge Wells, was jailed for 22
years for his horrific campaign of
rape against three victims.
Judge Philip Statman broke sen-
tencing guidelines to send Parker
away for as long as possible, saying
it reflected the depravity of his
and manipulation began
George Parker suicide. But I think reaching the
has been jailed end of the tunnel and realising
for 22 years there is a way has inspired me to Established 1981
Kent Police help others.
“[Last Friday] was the final clo- 64,000 customers! Limited
sure and now I can start to pro-
gress with my life. I want to go on ...Kent's leading double glazing manufacturer
to helping others in similar situa-
tions who have suffered in silence.

crimes.
Parker failed to even show for
the hearing at Maidstone Crown
Court but it was a momentous day
for the people in court.
One of those people was brave
victim Ross Jennings, who
watched from the public gallery as
his abuser was jailed for an unusu-
ally long time.
And for Mr Jennings, who has
inspired other victims with his
courageous story in his Facebook
page, it was a significant day.
He told The Courier: “I was
happy when I heard it was 22
years. It doesn’t take away any of
the abuse, but it reflects how dan-
gerous he is and the severity of the
abuse he subjected the three of us
to.”
The inspiring mental health
advocate, now 23, suffered exten-
sive sexual abuse at the hands of
Parker, who was his sister’s boy-
friend. Aged just 12 when the
abuse began, Mr Jennings endured
a three-year campaign of rape,
Judge tells court: I saw no sign of remorse
Although very rare to do so,
judge Philip Statman went
abuse and manipulation.
The former Southborough Pri-
mary School pupil said: “The three
of us (his victims) have suffered
badly with our mental health.
“Speaking about me and not the
others, I attempted suicide, got
diagnosed with PTSD and bipolar
and I have no sympathy for him
claiming he’s got mental health
problems.”
Mr Jennings was able to start his
process of recovery when he even-
tually confessed to his family, aged
20, what had happened.
He said: “I hit rock bottom in
2016 where everything went really
wrong, that was when I attempted
type. I have had the advantage
over the course of four weeks
20%
“I want to dedicate my life to
helping others now. It’s the start of
a new chapter. Helping others
helps me as well. I want to show
people, I’m living proof that you Off All
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can recover and it will get better.
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Parker, who worked in Sains-
bury’s, was found guilty of various BEFORE AFTER
sexual assaults, including oral rape
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outside the sentencing guidelines
due to Parker’s “depravity”.
Summing up, he concluded:
“There are concerns about his
conduct but the probation officer
doesn’t find the defendant to be
of sufficient risk of serious harm
of committing offences of this
viewing this defendant.
“In my judgement from seeing
him, George Parker shows no
sign of remorse. He continues to
maintain that his activities with
one of the victims was
consensual.
“This has been a case which
“All of the families have
behaved with consummate
dignity throughout proceedings.
“I want to assure the parents
and all the victims that there is
not one ounce of blame.
“It is not their fault and they’re
not to blame for what went on.”
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