A victim who was indecently assaulted as a child says her life has ‘changed forever’ following the abuse.

The victim, who is now an adult, was under 16 years old when she was indecently assaulted by Samual Fletcher between December 12, 2021 and February 5, 2022.

Fletcher, 33, denied four offences of indecent assault but was found guilty of three of the offences after trial. This meant the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had to give evidence on two occasions after a retrial.

At the Court of General Gaol Delivery on Tuesday, Fletcher was sentenced to 27 months in prison.

An impact statement was read out by prosecutor Hazel Caroon on behalf of the victim.

In it, the victim said: ‘My life has changed forever. I knew what had happened to me was not right. I took an overdose as I just wanted everything to stop.

‘What he (Fletcher) has done has had an impact on everyone. I hope he is aware of that.’

The victim says she self-harmed after what happened.

‘There were weeks at a time when I felt numb,’ she said. ‘I just wanted to feel something, and self-harm was my way of coping.

‘My education was ruined, and I struggled at school. I have no focus in my life now with no hobbies or interests.

‘At the moment I have no hope for the future, and I just feel numb. Every part of my life has been impacted by what happened.’

In mitigation, advocate David Reynolds told the court Fletcher has no previous convictions and had an offer of employment if any sentence could be suspended.

However, Deemster Graeme Cook said there was no alternative to immediate custody, pointing out Fletcher still had not accepted what he had done.

Fletcher was also handed a five-year sexual harm prevention order and will remain on the sex offenders’ register for ten years.

Deemster Cook said: ‘We all need to be very mindful of the impact this type of offending has on children and on society.’