Young abuse victim's heartbreaking statement to Morecambe attacker who abused him at Warton leisure park

A man who was abused as a youngster by serial paedophile Adrian Gartshore-Taylor has shared his emotive statement he read in person at Preston Crown Court at his sentencing.
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Gartshore-Taylor was caged for seven years.

His victim, who was just 10 when he was groomed, said:

"Your Honour,

Adrian Gartshore-TaylorAdrian Gartshore-Taylor
Adrian Gartshore-Taylor

"I wasn’t sure that writing this statement or saying any of this information out loud, was something that I could do however, I am grateful for the opportunity – thank you. I am

grateful because of my vocation; I am able and expected to speak up about justice particularly what is right and what is wrong. I am also grateful about the events that have

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occurred in my own life that have led up to this court room today.

"I didn’t anticipate that after 17 years, a violation that I am still trying process, would be presented to a room full of strangers, most who I have not met before today. But I stand

here today to be honest and tell you all what this experience has been like for me.

"As a 10-year-old boy, I had so much love to give and life to live. I would have sleepovers at my friends’ houses and regularly, their parents would contact my family and say how

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pleasant I was and that I would be welcomed back at any time in the future. My teachers would write my reports and send them home expressing how well I was developing in their classes, growing up, becoming a kind, caring young man. My life was on track to being amazing, I had so much to look forward to. I had parents that loved me and supported me, siblings that would protect me, friends that I could count passing cars with and teachers that were giving me the best opportunities to take on the world.

"As an innocent 10-year-old boy, all of this would be taken from me by an opportunistic serial sexual abuser, a man sitting in this court room today – Adrian Gartshore-Taylor.

"This man would abuse his position in society by forcing himself upon young, innocent and pleasant young boys such as myself and those mentioned before me, that fell victim to Adrian’s sexual fantasies.

My childhood was stripped away from me and I was forced to be an adult at an innocent age of 10.

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"Adrian used his experience and deviance, like he did with those that he abused before me, to take my childhood away and force me down a different path in my life that I was not equipped for. No child should be forced to go down this path, yet Adrian took it upon himself to sexually abuse me for his own sexual gratification and in doing so, forced me and my innocence into a lifetime of misery and resentment.

"

This abuse went on for a period of time, weeks or months – it all seems to be a bit blurry when I look back because although I still suffer from the abuse, I can’t recollect the exact date that the physical sexual abuse came to an end.

"I don’t want to talk much more about the graphic details of the sexual abuse, only Adrian and I will be the only ones that truly know what would happen in his caravan. Memories I wish could be deleted from my mind forever.

"What I would like to talk about is the impact that this has had on me over the last 17 years.

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"Prior to falling victim of Adrian’s sexual abuse, I have few memories. All of them have been overshadowed and pushed out because the memories of the abuse had taken over. All of those good memories that my family had spent years building up – forgotten. All due to the sexual abuse that would present more memories for me to process, resulting in overwriting previously established, amazing memories. Like an old cassette, recording the latest song on the radio resulted in overwriting your best summer hit that was previously stored on the cassette. My memories of being a boy, start from the moment I was sexually abused by Adrian.

"Let me create a timeline for you all – this is how my life has been up to now.

"As a 10-year-old boy – I was groomed by Adrian, he bought me a new mobile phone (not just any old phone, the latest one – Nokia 3310), trainers – again, only the best, cinema

tickets, sweets, chocolate and more – all of this for helping and working on his Car Boot Stall every Sunday for just a few hours at a time. These gifts that poured over me were not just presents for helping out on a Sunday morning, they were used as grooming tactics, to buy my innocence and to secure my silence. Adrian knew that these conniving ways would be the heart of all 10-year-old boys.

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"The abuse didn’t stop until my dad changed jobs and as a family, our social time would be spent elsewhere. The relief. I had finally escaped from the abuser that held my mind captive and prevented me from being a child.

At this point, the physical abuse came to an end. Yet, the mental abuse was creeping in and slowly progressing.

"It was around this time that I felt like I had been forced to ‘grow up’. I stopped being a child when I was 10 years old and I became an adult. Not by choice, not by development but caused by the unfortunate events that I had been through at that young age.

"At 11, 12 even 13 years old I would wet the bed. I would go to sleep and unwillingly dream about the experiences that I went through in that caravan all of those times, and I would wake up in tears, wet bed sheets and a profound feeling of embarrassment would loom over me. I couldn’t tell my family because they would ask questions, and I was scared of telling them the truth. I didn’t want my family knowing that I had seen a man’s penis or that a man had been sexually abusing me – I was ashamed and embarrassed. I kept quiet.

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"Wetting the bed would soon fizzle out, no longer preventing me from staying over at friends’ houses since I would be sure that I no longer wet the bed. Yet more of my youth

that had been stolen from me.

"At 16 years old, I managed to get through high school with few areas of significance to this case – mostly put down to teenage boy hormones. But I could never forget. Regardless of how much I would try to forget, I couldn’t, and I guess I just adapted to the mind frame, it’s happened and there is nothing that I can do about it.

"After leaving school, I was mature, developed, expressive and I felt as though I could handle anything that the world could throw my way.

"I started on the dating scene, considerably late according to some, unsure if I should be dating males or females – given that my only sexual relationship was with a male. Deep

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down I knew that I was heterosexual – yet the past sexual abuse would make me doubt this.

"I overcome this and commenced into my first heterosexual relationship.

"My perception of what an ideal relationship should be like was tarnished. I had unrealistic expectations of what sexual intercourse was meant to be like.

"I started to withdraw. I became disengaged from kissing and other type of physical contact. It scared me. I felt as though I was going through the same experiences that I had been through with Adrian. It brought back all of the traumatic memories of sexual abuse.

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"It’s fair to say that this relationship broke down due to the fact that I struggled to get over these memories. How could I ever be in a relationship with another person when all that I can think about is the trauma of what Adrian did to me.

"My relationships with friends started to deteriorate too. I found it difficult to trust people. I didn’t want to form new friendships because I was in fear that they would abuse their

position as a friend and take advantage of me. I had very few people in my life that I could trust. I became trapped inside my own mind, switching off from the world around me.

"At 18, I was going through my second year at college. I would only leave the house to go to college and upon returning home, I would retreat to my bedroom at my dad’s house and barely speak to anybody on the way there. This became the norm for me. I didn’t want to have friends because I was scared that they would end up hurting me, I didn’t want to know my family because I was scared that they too, would end up hurting me. I didn’t want to go anywhere because I was sure – someone would end up hurting me.

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"I had realised that this time I was going through depression. I became depressed and anxious but why? I had no reason to feel this way. Apart from 1 thing. 11 years I carried this burden without speaking to anyone other than my sister. We both knew what this burden was. The sexual abuse that I suffered at the hands of Adrian Gartshore-Taylor led me to being depressed and having anxiety. Throughout the years and up until now, I have been on and off anti-depressants – an expense that I have to pay for every month to deal with the trauma caused by that man.

"2015 was the most significant year for me. 27th July 2015. On this day, I wrote a letter to my family. It was personal, a letter that would be read upon my death. I would like to read a quote from this letter: “Please don’t be upset. I needed to escape this world, I have so much pain every day and I can no longer go on, I feel so lost. I never wanted to say goodbye, I just wish I could see you all later where this pain does not exist. I want to be happy and the memories I have of being a boy make me believe happiness does not exist here for me.”

"The letter I wrote was my suicide letter, saying goodbye to my family.

"27 th July 2015 – I crashed my car on the motorway headfirst to escape the pain that I was going through every day. I didn’t want to die but I didn’t want to live.

Not my time.

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"The car bounced and spun uncontrollably, it crumpled, and it was unrecognisable. I climbed out of the passenger door and I was fine. Not a bruise. Not a scratch on me.

"An officer on pursuit to an accident 2 miles down the M6 pulled over and took charge of the scene. 2 off duty paramedics on their way home from holidaying in Scotland happened to pull up beside my wreck of a car who were there to console me.

"Not my time.

"The letter that I wrote, remained in my pocket and nobody would ever see it. For some people, this would be seen as a failed suicide attempt. For me, this gave me a new lease of life. I knew I had a purpose on that day. I knew that my time was not up and there was something that I needed to do.

"I spent some time in counselling and on antidepressants to try and overcome this period in my life – yet again, another expense which I have had to cop for. I started to feel better.

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"Again, my mind would begin to explore and start running away from me, I would think about myself as an innocent 10-year-old boy and question what made Adrian take

advantage of a vulnerable boy – the depression would not subside.

"This time I didn’t want to die. I didn’t feel depressed. I felt alive. I knew what I wanted to do, and I did it. I reported my story of being a victim sexual abuse to the police in October 2018.

This is why we are all here today.

"Your honour, I hope I have highlighted the significant impact that this man has had on my life. I hope that I conducted myself in a professional manner throughout and that you give

me the justice I deserve.

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"This man has spent only 3 years in prison for the crimes that he committed to 3 other boys. I stand here today, alone, in hopes that he finally gets his comeuppance. The crimes

committed against me, like the other boys that Adrian sexually abused, have lasted a lifetime so far.

"As I stated earlier, my life nearly came to an end in 2015 all due to the trauma caused by Adrian Gartshore-Taylor.

"The physical sexual abuse that I was subjected to, did stop however, the impact that this has had on my life, up until and including today has been detrimental to my development and my existence.

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"I have been depressed for over 10 years and I still struggle with day to day activities due to the sexual abuse that I was a victim of.

"Your honour, WE cannot change a gay person from being attracted to the same sex.

"Your honour, WE cannot change a heterosexual person from being attracted to the opposite sex.

"Your honour, WE cannot change a person, that is sexually attracted to children, to be sexually attracted to adults.

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"This man will never, ever be reformed. He will always have his sexual tendencies and if this man is not imprisoned for the actions, he committed against me, god forbid that there are more young people in the direct vicinity of this man.

"He resides in a place that I used to venture to on my holidays with my family. Knowing that this man lives nearby gives me great discomfort and I hope that the court takes this

into consideration when issuing a sentence. I should be able to live my life in an area that I have grown up in and a vicinity that I, call my home – Lancashire. I hope that this court

considers relocating this offender to allow me and my family some form of comfort and security for when my fiancée and I have our first child.

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"To Adrian - I hope the words I have said today and the memories of what you did to me and the other boys haunt you for as long as your mind is free. I will never forget what you did to

me, but I promise that from today, your actions will no longer prevent me from living my life the way that I intend to, as a free man.

"I thank you, your honour and your justice system for allowing me to be here today and I thank you for giving me a voice on this day.

"Thank you."