Male abuse victim's 'lost childhood' A male victim of sexual abuse in Northern Ireland has told how he feels robbed of his childhood. Gerard was abused when he was a boy by his neighbour, Joseph Henry Bateson. Bateson was jailed for 11 years in March 2004 for a string of sex offences, including gross indecency and indecent assault. He had been described in court as an "ideal father and husband." Gerard said he felt that because of what had happened to him, he had been given a life sentence. "My childhood was robbed. I was sentenced to a life sentence to carry what happened to me as a child. "Joseph Bateson will get out, he will serve his time." He said he felt a sense of shock, but also relief, after the court case ended. "I felt nothing after it; I was shocked, I absolutely couldn't speak," he said. "All I remember is that my father hit me in the back and said: 'Keep your head up son, you've done well'. "It just hit me then that, after four years, I'd got there legally, and it was a relief." Gerard believes that the law needs to be tougher on sex offenders. "The law is not anywhere near tough enough. I was sentenced to carry this for the rest of my life, from 1979. "Twenty-seven years later I'm still carrying it. Mr Bateson will be out in five and half years. He was sentenced to 11 years. Where's the justice in that? "I didn't actually know going through the legal process that at the end of it all Bateson will get 50% remission. "I thought it was only a political thing, I didn't know it was to do with other prisoners as well. There's a whole stigma attached to male sexual abuse Gerard Sex abuse victim "Most of these sex offenders... do they ever change? "The law has to be looked at, something has to change." He said it was a very difficult to come forward after being abused. However, he decided to talk about his experiences to try to help other men or boys who have been abused. "There's a whole stigma attached to male sexual abuse. It's very much a man's world. I work in the building trade. Sometimes, growing up, I did feel less of a person, less of a man, maybe, for what happened to me. "The guys out at work, on the sites, everybody showed me massive respect, very, very much so. A lot of people have shook me by the hand on building sites and thanked me for coming forward. "Everybody who's important to me knows what happened and that's why I can come forward and speak about it. I have all the people behind me round home, round my area and my family. "Hopefully it will help other people, to make it easier for other people to come forward. If I can do it, anybody else can do it. I'm just an ordinary person. " Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/4785263.stm

Published: 2006/08/11 20:50:15 GMT