'Monster' raped one girl and molested another

A "monster" who raped one girl and molested another has been jailed for 17 years.

Liam Fox's offences against his first young victim came to light after the second reported him, Teesside Crown Court heard.

His victims said the abuse had devastated their young lives, with one saying he "took everything away" including her childhood, body and "part of my soul".

Fox, 34 and from Darlington, had denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of raping one child and sexually assaulting the other.

In a statement read to the court by prosecutor Susan Hirst, the girl Fox molested said she spent her childhood and teenage years "shut inside" for fear of what would happen if she left home.

"He took everything away," she said, adding: "My childhood, my body and part of my soul."

She said Fox should be the one "suffering", adding he was a "monster who goes after the most defenceless thing he can get for his own needs".

The girl Fox raped said she did not know what her life would have been like if "this horrible thing hadn't happened".

Judge Richard Bennett said the impact on the girls had been "very significant" and "enduring", telling Fox: "All of that is down to you."

The court heard Fox had been assessed as posing a high risk of harm to girls.

Fox will also have to serve a further year on extended licence after his eventual release from prison and must sign the sex offender register for life.

He must also comply with a sexual harm prevention order restricting his contact with girls for 20 years.

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