West Yorkshire man Paul Marsden jailed for sexually assaulting girls
West Yorkshire PoliceA 63-year-old man has been jailed for nine-and-a-half years for sexually abusing two teenage students of a West Yorkshire dance school.
Paul Marsden was found guilty of three indecent assaults that happened more than 30 years ago.
Following his conviction last month, a crowd funding page was set up to pay his £3,000 legal fees.
It had raised around £300 before the site was closed down following a complaint.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Marsden of Daisy Hill Back Lane, Bradford subjected one of the girls, aged 14 at the time, to abuse over a number of months.
Trauma re-lived daily
In her victim impact statement she said her childhood had been completely stolen by Marsden's crimes and she had seen a therapist for post-traumatic stress.
Marsden was cleared at his trial of further offences of attempted rape and indecent assault.
Barrister David Potter, for Marsden, said his client maintained his denials and had lived a life without any further offending.
"This defendant is now in his early 60s and he will find that this, the first sentence he will ever have faced, the hardest to bear," said Mr Potter.
Judge Colin Burn said it was clear from the evidence given by the younger complainant over three days during the trial that both the trauma and the anger had remained with her for every single one of the intervening years.
In addition to the jail sentence Judge Burn also imposed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order which restricts Marsden's contact with under-16s and he will also have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
