THE victim of a man who groomed her from a young age 20 years ago said she still has ‘constant nightmares’ about her abuse.

Richard Toomer, 48 and from Linden Road, West Parley, was jailed for eight historic sexual offences at Bournemouth Crown Court on Tuesday, July 16.

The Daily Echo requested a custody image of Toomer, but Dorset Police does not possess a picture of him. 

The abuse began with Toomer carrying out a sex act in front of the girl, who was a young teenager at the time.

It then progressed to her performing a sex act on him, Rebecca Fairburn, prosecuting, told the court.

This happened ‘very regularly’ over a period of two years and moved on to the victim carrying out oral sex on Toomer.

The pair discussed having full sex, with the victim reluctant to do so before she was 16.

However, the pair did have sex and the victim ‘freaked out’, and she began to avoid him, with activities beginning to stop from then onwards.

The victim became addicted to alcohol during the abuse, and later began to self-harm and became suicidal.

A victim impact statement read out by Ms Fairbairn said: “I tried to make it almost as if it never happened.

“It even got to the point where I also blocked out some of the positive times of my childhood.”

The victim also lost all trust for others and said: “The concept of intimacy and love had been taken away by my abuser.”

The statement said: “I will constantly have nightmares about my abuse which still occur now."

It added: “It has taken me nearly 20 years to acknowledge the abuse that happened to me and realise that it wasn’t my fault.”

Defending Toomer, Holly Fagan said he had shown a great deal of remorse.

He was confronted by his victim in 2021 via email, and in response he ‘made a number of admissions’.

Ms Fagan said: “He described his behaviour as unforgivable.”

She added: “He said that he was truly very sorry, that he takes full blame and that he should have known better.”

Sentencing, Judge William Mousley KC said Toomer’s abuse had caused his victim ‘serious psychological harm’.

While Toomer’s guilty pleas gave him credit, this increased the sentence the judge imposed.

Toomer was sentenced to seven years in prison.