By Grâçia Ada Obi
A paedophile repeatedly made a very young girl perform sexual acts upon him and told her it was a “secret” but the abuse came to light after the girl made a comment to her mother.
Michael Wheeldon, 71, of Porthcawl, began abusing his victim when she was less than 10 by forcing her to touch his penis on a number of occasions. The police were called after the victim made an inappropriate comment to her mother and described what the defendant had been doing to her.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard the defendant, known as Mick, had told the child not to say anything as it was a “secret”. Wheeldon, of Laburnum Drive, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to four counts of causing or inciting a child to perform a sexual act.
In a victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Megan Evans the victim’s mother said: “We feel like we’ve failed [the victim]. Our job is to protect our daughter and we feel we have been unable to do that…. The impact on our family has been unimaginable… Our world has been torn apart… We hate [Wheeldon] for what he has done to [the victim] and our family. He has torn many lives apart and he deserves all he gets.”
In mitigation Giles Hayes said his client did not have a background of like offending and the defendant’s life had been “devastated” by the consequences of his actions. He said Wheeldon has two adult children, one of whom has said he wants “nothing to do” with his father.
Sentencing, Judge Eugene Egan said: “The ripples of the effects of your offending may be felt for years to come.” Wheeldon was sentenced to four years and eight months imprisonment. He was also made subject to a restraining order and sex offender notification requirements indefinitely.
